Dhanbad,
Sept 26: Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a subsidiary of Coal India Limited
(CIL), has adopted flexible, transparent and attractive auction norms for steel
producers to promote import substitution of coking coal.
A
senior BCCL official said that the step has been taken in the wake 9% rise in
the import of coking coal in the country.
In
five months of the current financial year coking coal was imported 32 MT while
in the last financial year, it was 73.2 MT, a rise of 9% over the same period
last year.
“Since
BCCL is the largest coking coal producer in the country, the primary
responsibility of making ‘mission coking coal’ lies with it under Aatmnirbhar
Bharat,” the official said.
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BCCL changes auction strategy
In
the tranche VI auction, no offered coal was booked. Thereafter, the BCCL
changed the auction strategy and introduced the concept of consortium bidding,
allowing smaller consumers to collectively bid, which made the auction more
accessible.
The
official said the Function Director’s Meeting of BCCL approved the proposal (
amendment in eligibility norms of linkage auction bidders) and forwarded it to
CIL for consideration.
The
CIL duly endorsed the idea and a new scheme document for Linkage Auction
Tranche VII for the steel sub-sector was finalised.
The
CIL and BCCL also held a consumers’ meeting in New Delhi to get feedback from
all major steel producers and steel associations.