Indian government to decontrol pricing of coal
September 12, 2008
The Indian government is set to decontrol the pricing of coal and give wide ranging powers, including determining transfer pricing in respect of captive coal and lignite (brown, lowest rank coal) mines, to the regulator.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has approved a draft bill that will assign the responsibility of coal pricing to the regulatory authority.
The Coal Regulatory Authority Bill is expected to be introduced in the coming session of parliament.
The regulatory authority will determine the pricing of coal washing, specify standard procedure for automatic coal sampling and weighing and above all encourage competition and promote efficiency in the coal industry so as to facilitate its growth.
The coal regulator will be empowered to determine the prices following guidelines issued periodically by the government. It is understood stakeholders held several discussions on pricing.
The regulator’s independence will not be absolute however, the government would be the policy maker while the regulatory authority will implement policies.
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