MSTC to Offer Power Purchase Auction Platform The Economic Times (Kolkata); Dec 22 2015

The government has asked power utilities to sign power purchase agreements with power generators after selecting them through reverse auctions and has engaged MSTC to create an e-auction platform for bidding and deciding on lowest cost power supplier.

If a state intends to buy power, either for long, medium or short term, they will now have to invite bids from power suppliers. The bidding would be conducted through MSTC's e-auction where the buyer will set the maximum price and the bidder who manages to offer power at the lowest price would be the winner with which the state utility will sign the power purchase agreement.“These agreements can be for as short as a month to 25 years. MSTC hopes to ready the short-term platform for e-auction by January. The one for medium and long term is ex pected to be ready in three more months,“ said S K Tripathi, chairman and managing director MSTC.

At present, PPAs are often signed through negotiations on a nomination basis with power pro ducers. In order to bring total transparency in the way power utilities buy power, the government has directed them to conduct price bids through a reverse auction mechanism conducted on an electronic platform. “Public sector e-commerce site MSTC has been assigned the job of developing a national eauction portal for establishing power purchase agreements by power distribution companies and licensees,“ said Tripathi.

“The power ministry has issued a standard bidding document for distribution companies and licensees intending to enter into power purchase agreements with power generators and traders on long, medium and short term basis. Power Finance Corporation Ltd (PFCL), another PSU under the power ministry will team up with MSTC for developing and operating the National e-Bidding portal,“ he said.

Following a meeting chaired by the power secretary on Thursday last week, it was decided that the portal shall be made operational by end of January 2016 and the first phase will be implemented for short term pow er purchase agreements which means power purchase contracts for more than 15 days and up to one year will be handled through this portal.Thereafter, power purchase contracts for medium term (more than one year and up to five years) will be introduced. Finally, long term PPAs will be settled through the portal.

The bidding process shall involve multi stage bidding like online request for quotation, request for proposal and reverse e-auction. “As a national portal, the system is expected to create greater opportunity for the power buyers and sellers and power tariff is expected to become cheaper and more affordable to consumers,“ said Tripathi. MSTC was earlier appointed by the government to carry out e-auctions of coal blocks cancelled by the Supreme Court in September 2014.

MSTC to develop e-bidding portal for PPAsMILLENNIUM POST, New Delhi, 19 December 2015

MSTC Limited, the premier e-Commerce PSU of the country, has been assigned the job of developing a national e-bidding portal by the Union Ministry of Power for establishing power purchase agreements by the power distribution companies and licensees. 

The Ministry of Power had issued standard bidding documents for the distribution companies and licensees in the country to enter into power purchase agreements with power generators and traders on long, medium and short term basis. 

This is another mile-stone towards strengthening the resolve of the present government to bring in transparency and efficiency in the functioning through use of information technology and e-commerce. MSTC takes pride to provide such service. Power Finance Corporation Consulting Limited (PFCCL), will team up with MSTC in the development and operation of the national e-bidding portal. 

During a meeting taken by the secretary power on Thursday, it has been decided that the portal shall be made operational by end of January 2016 and the first phase will be implemented for short term power purchase agreements which means power purchase contracts for more than 15 days and up to one year. 

Thereafter, the power purchase contracts for medium term (more than one year and up to five years) will be introduced in the portal. Finally, the long term PPAs will be settled through the portal. The bidding process shall involve multi stage bidding like online RFQ, RFP and e-reverse auction. As a pan India portal, the system is expected to create greater opportunity for the power buyers and sellers and the power tariff is expected to become cheaper and more affordable to consumers. Thus, the government is heading towards an electronic era in the energy sector which can revolutionise the sector and bring in more investors in the future. MSTC was earlier appointed by the government to carry out the e-auction of the coal blocks cancelled by the Supreme Court in September 2014. The fourth tranche of allocation of these coal blocks is presently going on and the auctions are scheduled to be conducted from 18th to 22nd January 2016.

In between MSTC has also conducted two phases of e-reverse bidding for Ministry of Power for identifying the beneficiaries of the subsidy being provided by the government from the Rs 7500 crore Power System Development Fund to the stranded and domestic gas based power plants in the country. 

The process has so far enabled the government to revive about 4700 mw of power generating capacity. MSTC has also been engaged by the Union Ministry of Mines to provide the e-auction platform for allotment of mineral mines across all the states pursuant to the amendment of the MMDR Act. 

Odisha to auction two iron ore blocks in first phase WEEKEND Business Standard, Kolkata, 5th December, 2015

BS REPORTER: Two iron ore blocks in Odisha would go under the hammer in the first phase. The blocks listed for auctions are Ghoraburahani-Sagasahi East block and Jhunka-Patriposi blocks with combined reserves of over 140 million tonne.

"The survey work has been completed in respect of 12 blocks- five iron ore, five limestone, one bauxite and one manganese block. In the first phase, two blocks would be put to auctions. The state government has engaged SBI Caps as the transaction advisor for conduct of auctions", state steel & mines minister Prafulla Mallick stated in a written reply to the state assembly.

The notification for mineral blocks auctions is expected to be issued shortly.

The auction platform is set to be provided by central PSU MSTC Ltd. SBI Capital Markets Ltd (SBI Caps), a fully owned subsidiary of State Bank of India is the transaction advisor for conducting mineral auctions. The transaction advisor would assist the state government in fixing floor price for auctions.

To kickstart the auction process, the state government has already formed a committee under its development commissioner U N Behera. The committee's mandate is to monitor the preparatory work relating to auction of major mineral concessions including conduct of DGPS (Differential Global Positioning System) survey and preparation of tender documents.

Realising the need for exploration, the state government has already come out with a dedicated policy on mineral exploration. Central government agencies like Geological Survey of India (GSI) and Mineral Exploration Corporation Ltd (MECL) were being roped in by the state to carry out exploration work of the identified mineral blocks.

According to the notified Auction Rules, 2015, the state governments will have the discretion to reserve particular mine or mines for any particular end use. Auctions can be conducted only through an online electronic platform. The state government may utilise any online platform which meets the minimum technical and security requirements as specified in the guidelines for compliance to quality requirements of e-procurements issued by the standardisation testing and quality certification directorate under department of information technology. The Union government has proposed an upfront payment of 0.5 per cent of value of resources by companies, who secure licence for mining major minerals like iron ore through auction under the new law.

9 Mineral-rich States to Auction up to 70 Mines The Economic Times, Kolkata, 4th December, 2015

New Delhi : Nine mineral-rich states are expected to auction up to 70 mines to private firms for captive use this fiscal, mines secretary Balvinder Kumar said on Thursday . Of these, the auction process for 28 mines has started in five states, he said at a CII conference.

Kumar also said that the gov ernment is in the process of finalising a National Mineral Exploration Policy , a draft of which has been prepared for consultations with the industry .

He said Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh are expected to auction iron ore and limestone mines.

Karnataka is likely to offer 15 mines, Chhattisgarh five and Madhya Pradesh three mines with different mineral reserves, Kumar told ET.

The online auction will be conducted by MSTC Ltd on the lines of coal block auction where companies offering higher value for the reserves secure the blocks. Gujarat, Rajasthan and Maharashtra have already begun auction of 15 blocks with limestone, iron ore and tungsten reserves to private companies.Gujarat will auction five limestone blocks--Mudhvay Sub blocks 1 to 4 and Goyla block--in the first round of auctions. Rajasthan will auction three limestone blocks--Sindwari-Rama Khera-Satkhanda block A and block B, and Harima-Pithasar-3D block. Maharashtra has offered Nandgaon-Ekodi limestone mine, Degve-Banda iron ore mine, Chitale-Watangi bauxite mine and Khobna tungsten block for sale. The last date for submitting bids for the Rajasthan blocks is January 4 and that for blocks in Gujarat is January 11.

The last date for bid submission for mineral blocks in Maharashtra is January 15.

Kumar said the government will earn INR 450-500 crore in revenue in the National Mineral Exploration Trust by the end of next year, as the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, mandates mining companies to contribute 2% royalty for facili tating exploration. The amendment to the Act passed in March stipulates auction as the only means to allow extraction of iron ore and other minerals.

Under the auction process, the host states invite technical and initial price bids from companies. Bidders who qualify as per the technical specifications are ranked on the basis of higher initial price offers made by them. Selected bidders participate in an online tendering process and the highest bidder wins the blocks.

The tender documents for the e-auction of mines has been prepared in consultation with staterun MECON Ltd based on provisions of the Act, Mineral Auction Rules of 2015 and the mineral policy of different states.

Signing of MoU between Government of Chhattisgarh and MSTC Ltd

A Memorandum of Understanding was signed between Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Chhattishgarh and MSTC Ltd. for appointing MSTC as e-Auction Service Provider for e-Auction of non-Coal mining blocks on 27th November, 2015 at Raipur.

The MoU was signed by Shri B B Singh, Director Commercial, MSTC and Sushri Reena Babasaheb Kangale, Director Mines and Geology, Government of Chhattisgarh .

Signing of MoU between Government of Jharkhand and MSTC

A Memorandum of Understanding has been signed between Department of Mines and Geology, Government of Jharkhand and MSTC Ltd with latter being appointed as e-Auction service provider for non-Coal mining blocks on 27th November, 2015 at Ranchi.

The MoU was signed by Shri Subrata Kumar Ray, General Manager, MSTC and Shri S.P. Negi, Special Secretary cum Director Mines, Government of Jharkhand.

Times of India, Hyderabad Edition, 26th November, 2015

Deccan Chronicles, Hyderabad Edition,26th November, 2015

Huge Response to Online Land Auctions by TSIICIndian Express, Telengana, 26th November, 2015

HYDERABAD: After months of lull in reality sector, the boom time started in Telangana state. There is a huge response to land auctions conducted through online by the TS Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) here on Wednesday.

Aurobindo Pharma purchased five acres land in Rayadurgam area at a record price of Rs 29.28 crore per acre. This is the highest ever price for a land offered after the formation of Telangana state.

The TSIIC issued e-tender-cum-auction notification for sale of lands in Rayadurgam, Kokapet and Manikonda areas on October 30.

On Wednesday, the e-auction was conducted from 12 noon to 3 pm. The lands in Rayadurgam are intended for commercial and other purposes, whereas Kokapet and Manikonda lands are for residential purposes.

Aurobindo pharma purchased five acres in Rayadurgam at a cost of Rs 29.28 crore per acre. The same Aurobindo purchased 3.65 acres at some other place in Rayadurgam at cost of Rs 24.88 crore per acre. Naya Infra company purchased two acres for Rs 24.2 crore per acre. Symed Labs purchased three acres at Rs 22.02 crore per acre.

When the real estate boom was at its peak in 2007-08, the APIIC conducted land auctions. The land rates offered then by various companies were between Rs 18 crore to Rs 23 crore per acre. Now, the land rates surpassed all-time record and even crossed the prices offered in 2007-08 considered boom period.

All these firms, which purchased lands on Wednesday would set up their corporate office in Rayadurgam. 

Record prices were offered even for residential lands auctioned by the TSIIC on Wednesday. In Manikonda, Earth Papers purchased lands by offering Rs 12.63 crore per acre. In Kokapet, another company purchased land at Rs 6.05 crore per acre.

As per the directions of chief minister K Chandrasekhar Rao, the TSIIC conducted e-auction of lands for the first time. Those offered highest rates through online would be allocated lands, official sources said.

The entire tender process and allocation of lands as per the highest bids would be finalised automatically through online. Later, the TSIIC would give possession of the lands as per the online data basis, sources said.

Ms. Bharthi S Sihag, IAS, Addl. Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Steel inaugurated MSTC Stall at India International Trade Fair (IITF) 2015 on 14th Nov 2015 at Pragati Maiden, New Delhi in presence of Shri. S K Tripathi CMD & Ms. Urvilla Khati, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel

e-Auction of Land SaleThe Times of India, Kolkata & Mumbai Edition; The Hindu ; Sangbad Pratidin; Khabar 365 Din; Bartaman; Aajkal; Hindustan Times, Delhi Edition;

KOLKATA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION (KMC), Govt. of West Bengal, invites offers from eligible Customers for allotment of following LANDS. The details of e-Auction to be conducted by M/s. MSTC Ltd., Kolkata Region (A Govt. of India enterprise) is as under 

LAND	Area of Land	Location	E-auction No. & Date
01	10.12 Acres equivalent of 40954.187 sq.meters. Land on Long-term lease.	Near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, behind Bartaman (daily newspaper) Bulding, Kolkata.	MSTC/ERO/The Kolkata Municipal Corporation/1/New Market/15-16/11068 to be held on 03.12.2015
02	5.78 Acres equivalent of 23390.83 sq.meters. Land on Long-term lease.	Near Eastern Metropolitan Bypass, behind Hotel Silver Spring, Kolkata.	MSTC/ERO/The Kolkata Municipal Corporation/2/New Market/15-16/11069 to be held on 10.12.2015

Eligibility conditions for bidders:

The offer is open for all Land Purchaser / Developers / Promoters etc. No bidder shall be represented by any broker or agent.

For Registration as Bidder & other details  : Please visit www.mstcecommerce.com & www.mstcindia.co.in

Contact Persons:

KMC (for Land details)	MSTC Limited (for e-auction details)
Contact Person/Office	Contact Person/Office	Contact Person/Office
Shri Asit Baran Kundu Chief Valuer THE KOLKATA MUNICIPAL CORPORATION 5, S. N. Banerjee Road Central Municipal Office Kolkata – 700 013 Telephone : 03322861271 / 9830581760	Shri. Debdeep Sen Asst. Manager, E.R.O 225-F, AJC Bose Rd., 3rd Floor Kolkata-700020 Telephone: (033) 22891402/ 22900964, 9163600444 E-mail: debdeep@mstcindia.co.in	Shri. Sanjay K Pramanick Deputy Manager, E.R.O 225-F, AJC Bose Road, 3rd Floor Kolkata-700020 Telephone: (033) 22891402, 8902499800 E-mail: skpramanick@mstcindia.co.in

Observation of Vigilance Awareness Week The Times of India, Kolkata , 6th November, 2015

Vigilance Awareness Week was inaugurated at MSTC with a pledge being administered in English and Hindi by A K Basu, Director (Finance) and B B Singh, Director( Commercial ) respectively.

New Secretary Steel : Aruna Sundarajan, IAS

Senior IAS officer Aruna Sundarajan has taken charge as Secretary in Ministry of Steel.  She is a 1982 batch IAS officer of Kerala cadre, and her previous assignment was Administrator, Universal Service Obligation Fund under Department of Telecommunications. She has been appointed in place of Rakesh Singh, who superannuated on September 30, 2015.

Ms Sundararajan has over three decades of experience in a variety of leadership roles in the Central  Government and Kerala State . Important positions she has held include the Country Head of the Global E schools Initiative of the UN,  Mission Director, Rajiv AwasYojana under JNNURM,  and CEO of the prestigious  Common Service Centre Project under the National E-Governance Project, Government of India. Ms Sundararajan was instrumental in establishing the IT department of Kerala , the Kochi Infopark, and in initiating the SMART City project, Kochi.  She is no stranger to Kochi having started her career as Secretary of the GCDA. Ms Sundararajan was honoured as one of the top professional women achievers by India Today in 2009 and by Forbes Business Magazine in Aug 2012.

Telangana: Upset price fixed for auction of 20 land parcelsTimes of India, Hyderabad, 31st October, 2015

HYDERABAD: The Telangana government has approved the upset prices for 20 land parcels that would be put for public open auction in Hyderabad and Ranga Reddy districts soon. The government also gave consent to appoint M/s MSTC as service provider for the e-auction.

According to a GO issued by the revenue department, the chairman and MD of Telangana State Industrial Infrastructure Corporation (TSIIC) was permitted to appoint the MSTC as service provider for land auction. For conducting e-auctions, the agency would be paid service charges 0.5% of the sale proceeds or Rs 75 lakh whichever is less.

It may be recalled the state government last month gave order allowing the Hyderabad and RR district collectors to auction government land parcels. While 17 land parcels were identified in Ranga Reddy, 10 were identified in Hyderabad. The TSIIC proposed upset price for 10 land parcels in Hyderabad and 10 land parcels in Ranga Reddy district based on basic value, prevailing market value and as assessed in the market by the TSIIC.

The TSIIC earlier informed the government that M/s MSTC had executed an Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Information Technology, Electronics and Communication department for providing e-auction cum e-tender service to the state government departments and requested to accord permission for appointment of M/s MSTC as service provider for sale of land parcels through e-auction and to accord approval to the upset price and bid conditions.

Observation of Vigilance Awareness Week The Pioneer, New Delhi, 30th October, 2015

Vigilance Awareness Week was inaugurated at MSTC with taking of pledge by employees. The pledge was administered in English and Hindi by Director (Finance), A K Basu, and Director (Commercial), B B Singh respectively. Also messages from the President of India, the Vice-President of India, the Prime Minister of India and the Central Vigilance Commission were read out on the occasion by S Ambastha, CVO. Various activities have been scheduled to raise awareness amongst the employees.

Observation of Vigilance Awareness Week in MSTC Head Office, Kolkata on 27th October, 2015

Marayoor sandalwood auction fetches record INR 40 cr The Hindu Business Line, Munnar, 18th October 2015

Fiftytwo tonnes of sandalwood collected from the Marayoor sandalwood forest of the Kerala Forest Department were sold for a record INR 40 crore at the auction held at Marayoor late last week.

World’s largest auction

The Marayoor auction is said to be the world’s largest sandalwood auction and the auction is usually held twice a year. “This year, 14 different classes of sandalwood, including roots, were on auction,” R Shivaprasad, Divisional Forest Officer in charge of the Marayoor sandalwood plantation, told BusinessLine. “The prices this time were around 20 per cent more than last time.”

The Marayoor sandalwood commands high reputation and high prices and is used mainly as ‘prasadam’ in Kerala temples, as a key ingredient in sandal-based perfumes and also for soap-making. Guruvayur and Sabarimala temple authorities are regular bidders at the Marayoor auctions. The entire process of auctioning is now carried out online.

Only the fallen ones

The Marayoor forest, located on the Munnar-Udumalpet road , is the largest natural sandalwood forest of species santalum album in a rain-shadow region in the world. The government does not allow cutting down of sandalwood trees in the forest. Only those trees which are fallen are sold off. The fallen wood is collected and stored at the government sandalwood depot. There are around 60,000 sandal trees in Marayoor.

Officials point out that the cost of maintaining the Marayoor sandalwood forest is high because of the threat from smugglers and poachers. The increasing global price of sandalwood has encouraged poachers to take extreme risks to steal the wood. As a result, the Forest Department employs an army of watchers and other security staff to guard over the forest.

Voluntary forest protection forums which have local people’s support have an important role in keeping the forest intact. On Saturday, police arrested three persons for smuggling sandalwood weighing around 50 kg.

Festive Cheer as E-Sales Leap The New Indian Express, Kolkata,18th October,2015

Okay, folks. The first round of the grand festive e-commerce sales season just got over. Deal seekers in tony neighborhoods of most big cities seemed to have bought a thing or two each. Some are delivered within 24 hours, while others are on their way, thanks to e-tailers’ improved logistics.

 Analysts say, consumers picked up more stuff than last year, despite the online sale bonanza coming a month after offline stores’ end of season sale that ended in August. “This shows consumers appetite. In some categories, discounts may not be significant, but any saving is a saving and that’s driving sales,” said Sridhar Tirumala, CEO, Trupik India, which offers a seamless 3-D interface to bridge online-offline shopping experience. 

  While bargain hunters were somewhat satisfied while shopping for electronics, other product categories like furniture, branded apparel, clothing accessories etc leave much to be desired. Interestingly, all the hype and action on the e-commerce sale war, like last year, was predominantly concentrated in major cities, while rural consumers, in hordes, are yet to join the online sales blitzkrieg. In line with the law of supply and demand principle, hottest-moving products continued to sell close to their sticker prices. For instance, Apple products like iPhone or iPad had no more than few bucks off the original price. This left some repeat online buyers from last year as visitors than buyers. 

  The Indian e-commerce market was worth about $2.5 billion in 2009, touched $8 billion in 2015 and is expected to touch a whopping $56 billion by 2023. But for this to happen, a significant chunk of rural consumers need to be on board. Thanks to smartphones, a part of the e-tailer penetration is already underway.

  According to Assocham, Delhi, Mumbai and Bengaluru drove sales, but there is a surge of interest from Tier II and Tier III cities like Gurgaon, Noida, Chandigarh, Nagpur, Indore, Coimbatore, Jaipur, Vishakhapatnam, where online sales rose a sharp 120 per cent year-on-year.

 “In addition to Tier I and II cities, on-time deliveries also extend to customers in traditionally underserviced areas like Aizawl, Agartala, Dibrugarh, Tezpur, Cooch Behar, Malda, Anantnag and Thoothukudi,” said Jayant Sood, Chief Customer Experience Officer, Snapdeal.

  E-tailers also believe the urban market is not completely tapped yet. According to Snapdeal, there was a 350 per cent increase in first time customers. While, electronics drew people to websites, the significant discounts offered on these products are largely related to local makes, or those with relatively outdated technology. On the other hand, sales of large size products like furniture, beds, TVs, sofas were up moderately. 

 “For the past four days of The Great Indian Festive Sale, the automotive department has been consistently registering record sales each day and today it saw a 450 per cent growth in unit sales over its previous biggest event, The Great Indian Freedom Sale hosted in August,” an Amazon India spokesperson said. 

  While Flipkart claimed to have sold 5 lakh smartphones in flat 10 hours, Snapdeal said there was a multi-fold increase in orders and claimed that 98.9 per cent of its orders were dispatched within 24 hours of order placement and achieved 98.6 per cent on-time delivery. 

  “Over the last year, all our teams have worked single-mindedly to deliver world class customer experience this Diwali. We have significantly ramped up our supply chain and technology capabilities which are now translating to superior customer value proposition. The sheer volume of positive feedback on social media is a great validation of our efforts,” said Jayant. 

  Unperturbed are the offline retailers, who think there is virtually no reason for deep discounts during festive season as demand for clothes and gifts already exist and hence no need to lure shoppers with site-crashing or door-bursting deals.

  Flash sales or deep discounts are supposed to come with a limited window offer, but these days, if you are in the market to shop for less, deals seem to be just round the clock. There may be merit in asking yourself a few questions to save some pretty pennies. Are these discount deals really deep? Did it really save huge money? Or do I really need to buy this or am I allowing my impulsive mind to have its way?

e-Auction of Sandalwood at Kerala

The Financial Express, Kolkata, 8th October, 2015

4th phase of coal auction soon, 8-10 blocks on offer Business Standard, Kolkata, 13 October 2015

The fourth round of coal mines auction is likely to get off the ground this month as the government is considering bringing 8-10 mines under the hammer.

Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal had earlier said the process and formalities of the fourth round of auctions are at the last stage.

"The fourth phase of coal mines auction will start very soon. It (the auction of blocks) is likely this month," a source privy to the development said.

In the fourth phase, the government is planning to auction 8-10 blocks for the unregulated non-power sectors, including cement, steel and aluminium, the source said. The first three rounds as well as allotment of mines had fetched states around Rs 3 lakh crore.

Shri Vishnu Deo Sai, Hon’ble Minister of State for Steel & Mines, Government of India, visited MSTC Head Office at Kolkata on 10th October, 2015 and reviewed performance of MSTC.

Mineral auctions on way from The Telegraph,Business, Calcutta Edition of 12th October 2015

New Delhi, Oct. 11: The Centre is set to start the auction of minerals other than coal next month.

About 71 mines will be put up for bidding on behalf of the states, with 20 iron ore blocks in Karnataka, shut down on court orders, part of the exercise.

Top officials said state-run Mecon had surveyed the mines and ruled out auctions in about a score of them as these had land acquisition issues or were in areas affected by militant activities.

The government expects to auction around 200 mines on behalf of the states in at least two phases. Top steel makers, such as Tata Steel, JSW and Essar, can be expected to bid for the mines as also aluminium manufacturers such as Vedanta and Hindalco.

India classifies manganese, iron ore, bauxite, limestone, kyanite, sillimanite, barites, chromite, silica sand, fluorite and quartz as major minerals where the central government is the final arbiter of allocations based on state recommendations. Other minerals are treated as minor, to be allocated, auctioned or disposed of by the state governments.

Earlier moves to bring in a bidding process to grant the lucrative iron ore mining rights were strongly opposed by the mineral-rich states as they feared it would be against their interests.

However, the Centre managed to get the states on board by assuring them that they would receive earnings from advance royalty.

Steel plants need fresh iron ore leases to continue operations, while a large number of proposed projects would like to buy mines to ensure cheap and dependable supplies.

India, a net exporter of iron ore three years back, had imported a record 15 million tonnes last year to feed its steel mills.

This year, with production going up and new mines expected to be thrown open, imports are projected at a lower level but still a significant 6 million tonnes.

Similarly, lack of bauxite was cited as the chief reason why Anil Agarwal-led Vedanta Resources started shutting down its one-million-tonne a year aluminium sheet rolling division and foundry in Chhattisgarh.

The competition among bidders will be on production sharing - those offering the highest share to the state will get the mine.

Successful bidders will have to give a bank guarantee equal to three years of the share of production. If the mine is not developed in time, the guarantees will be encashed and leases cancelled.

Meanwhile, miners in Goa expect to sell 20 million tonnes of iron ore that they have been allowed to mine from the state and are prepared to slash prices to make the mineral competitive amidst a demand slowdown.

Goa mainly produces low grade iron ore that is exported to China and other countries.

Special coal e-auction for Power sector

There is a time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak. With a myriad of issues and challenges facing the Power sector, many power projects in the country have either been shelved or stalled. One of the major challenges which they are facing is the supply of fuel. The sector is in dire need of a boost as Coal and other fuel supplies fell far short of projections and their linkages became even rare.

The state owned coal producer: Coal India Limited (CIL) is ramping up productions and removing off take bottlenecks to ensure adequate stock of coal at the power plants. The issue for supply of coal to the power plants was recently addressed by Ministry of Coal, Gov. of India. 

For power plants which are stressed or in short supply of coal for the reason that they do not have coal block or linkages or do not have long term Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), a separate quantity within the e-auction quantity has been earmarked for power sector so that assets created are put to use and they do not turn into NPAs. A separate e-auction scheme namely Special e-Auction Scheme, 2015 for power producers was formulated by CIL and approved by Govt. of India. Under this scheme, 10 Million ton of coal is to be made available for bidding by power plants (IPPs only) having Long/Medium/Short term PPAs or having no PPA at all. For the purpose the special e-auction for power plants having Short-term or no PPA was conducted by MSTC in the month of Sep’2015. 

The special e-auction was conducted on 30^th Sep 2015 for which 25 prospective bidders registered with MSTC. The registration was done in a short period of 4-5 days and it went smoothly and effectively. Major power producers like Jindal Power, Adani, GMR, RattanIndia, BLA Power, Dhariwal and many more showed their interest and registered with MSTC for the said e-auction. Many subsidiaries of CIL namely Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) and North Eastern Coalfields (NEC) participated in the special e-auction and offered 5 Million ton of coal from various sources. The grades varied from G-2 to G-9 and size of coal offered was ROM and Steam. The offered price for the various grades ranged from ₹1638.00 to ₹6818.00. The offer was mainly for dispatch by Rail mode.

This initiative by the Govt. of India and CIL has widened the window for sourcing coal for the stressed power sector which shall further benefit the general population of India and this action has added a new chapter in the growth of our economy.

A new hope is visible on the horizon for the digital & shining India.