MC EXCLUSIVE Coal ministry surpasses asset monetisation target by Rs 63,000 crore

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With the Union government’s first national monetisation pipeline (NMP) coming to an end, the Ministry of Coal has topped the leaderboard, surpassing its targets by record Rs 63,000 crore, according to government data seen by Moneycontrol.

Against a total target of Rs 1.38 lakh crore in four years since 2021-22, the Ministry of Coal monetised its assets to earn Rs 2 lakh crore – 45 percent more than the target.

Officials said the Ministry of Road Transport and Highways emerged as the second-best performing sector, even as its finals figures were not shared till the time of filing this report.

Asset monetisation is the process of creating new sources of revenue for the government and its entities by unlocking the economic value of unutilised or underutilised public assets such as roads, mines, airports, pipelines, telecom towers, and so on. NMP was the Indian government’s first such initiative aimed to generate Rs 6 lakh crore from core central government assets over four years, from FY22 to FY25.

In the Union Budget 2025, finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced the second asset monetisation plan for 2025-30, targeting Rs 10 lakh crore in new investments. The details of which are currently being worked out by Niti Aayog and hence, the new targets across ministries are yet to be released.

Reforms to open up the coal sector helped

The Ministry of Coal managed to achieve such high-value asset monetisation through a combination of commercial coal mine auctions, development of mines through the Mine Developer and Operator (MDO) model, and revenue sharing arrangements with Coal India Ltd (CIL) and its subsidiaries. Such multi-pronged approach resulted in significant revenue generation and increased private sector participation in the coal sector.

For example, in March this year, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), a CIL subsidiary achieved a historic milestone by successfully monetizing the 2 million ton per annum (MTPA) Dugda Coal Washery located in Bokaro, Jharkhand. This was the first-ever monetization of a coal washery in India.

Also Read: Adani, Tata, Vedanta make a power play for coal-fired projects after five-year lull.

“Such landmark achievement is part of the broader reforms initiated by the ministry to modernize the coal sector in India and ensure the optimal utilisation of its vast coal resources. By leveraging private sector expertise and investment, the ministry aims to drive efficiency, reduce wastage, and maximize the value of coal sector infrastructure,” said a senior coal ministry official adding that moving forward, the ministry will continue optimizing coal assets, expanding domestic coal washing capacity, and reducing import dependency.

Since the launch of commercial coal mining in 2020, a total of 125 coal mines have been successfully auctioned in India. These auctions have been conducted across 11 rounds, with a combined production capacity of 273.06 MTPA.

To be sure, FY25 was the first time since the launch of NMP in FY22 that the Ministry of Coal missed its annual target set at Rs 54,722 crore. It managed to achieve Rs 46,873 crore through asset monetisation in FY25, which is 86 percent of the total.

“We cannot call it bad performance because in the entire four-year period this has been the a one-off case. The ministry fell short of meeting the target because of some proposals and projects which slipped into next financial year,” said a second senior ministry official.