India issues 6m tonnes imported coal tenders

Coal India, the world's largest coal miner by output, has issued two tenders to import 6 million tonnes of coal for utilities in the next 12 months, it said on Friday, as the government seeks to boost fuel availability.

This follows another tender the state-run miner issued on Thursday to import 2.42 million tonnes of coal by the end of September.

Coal India (CIL), which has little experience in importing coal, was asked to place orders for shipments from overseas by the power ministry as utilities suggested multiple tenders would lead to confusion and sought centralised procurement through CIL.