New Delhi: The government has restricted participation of companies from countries sharing a land border with India in the ongoing auction of coal mines for commercial extraction by the private sector.
The Coal Ministry has issued a corrigendum to the tender document issued for commercial coal mining, bringing out the fact that though 100 per cent FDI, under the automatic route, is permitted in the new activity, investment proposals or bids from countries sharing a land border with India will only be done through the government route. This would mean such proposals will first be vetted by the government before any participation is allowed.
The coal block auction has so far received good response from the investors.