Progressing further towards establishing the proposed coal exchange, the Central Government vide a gazette notification Thursday (December 11) appointed Coal Controller Organisation (CCO) as the authority to register and regulate the proposed coal exchanges.

The Coal Ministry had proposed appointing CCO as the regulator for the proposed coal exchange in September this year. The draft legislation had entrusted CCO with registering and revoking registrations, notifying fees and other charges necessary for exchange operations, market oversight and surveillance over the activities of exchanges, notifying guidelines and procedure for settling disputes and placing grievances, among other things.

The idea of setting up a coal exchange is premised around an increased availability of coal in the country. The coal ministry believes the mechanism would help address the surplus coal scenario by expanding further the existing channels for selling coal. Thus, also instituting an additional competitive market for its sale. In FY 2024-25, India produced 1.05 billion tonnes of coal. According to government estimates, domestic coal production is expected to increase 6-7% annually in the coming years to scale an annual production of 1.5 billion tonne by 2029-30.