New Delhi: The Coal Controller Organisation (CCO) has received applications from Indian Energy Exchange Limited (IEX) and Multi Commodity Exchange of India Limited (MCX), through their respective subsidiaries, to establish and operate coal exchanges in India, and has invited stakeholders to submit suggestions on the proposals. In two notices dated October 1, the CCO, under the Ministry of Coal, invited comments on the applications of Indian Coal Exchange Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of IEX, and MCX Coal Exchange of India Limited, a wholly-owned subsidiary of MCX.
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The notices have been issued under Rule 8(1) of the Coal Exchange Rules, 2026, which requires the authority to publish the details of an applicant and invite stakeholder suggestions within 30 days of publication. “Upon receipt of an application, the Authority is required to notify the complete details of the applicant on its official website, inviting suggestions from stakeholders within thirty (30) days from date of publication of the notice,” the CCO said in the notices.
Stakeholders have been asked to send their suggestions by email to coal.exchange@gov.in within 30 days of publication of the respective notices. They may also submit their comments in writing.
Indian Coal Exchange Limited, incorporated on June 1, 2026, has applied to establish and operate an electronic trading platform (ETP) and electronic marketplace (e-Market) for coal and coal-related instruments.
According to the application details published by the CCO, the company's proposed activities include facilitating trading in coal-linked instruments, including spot, forward and futures contracts, as well as other permitted contracts.
The notice identifies IEX as the company's principal shareholder, holding 99.9 percent of its shares. The remaining shares are held by six nominee shareholders, each holding one equity share on behalf of IEX.
MCX Coal Exchange of India Limited, incorporated on June 11, 2026, has also applied to establish and operate a coal exchange. Its proposed activities include developing and maintaining an online trading platform, software systems, algorithms, application programming interfaces (APIs), data centres and cybersecurity infrastructure to support trading across the country.
The application covers coal and related products, including thermal coal, coking coal, washed coal and imported coal, as well as other solid fossil fuels and permitted commodities and instruments. The notice states that the proposed platform would facilitate access across regions and provide a hedging mechanism to mitigate market risk.
MCX holds 99.9 percent of the shares in MCX Coal Exchange of India Limited, with the remaining shares distributed among seven individual shareholders, according to the published details. Both applicants are public companies limited by shares, as required under the Coal Exchange Rules, 2026.
The stakeholder consultation follows the launch of the online coal exchange registration portal in July 2026, which marked the operationalisation of the application process under the new regulatory framework.
Union Minister of Coal and Mines G Kishan Reddy launched the portal on July 15, 2026, during the curtain raiser for India Mining Week 2026 in New Delhi. The portal enables eligible entities to apply for registration to establish and operate coal exchanges under the oversight of the designated authority.
The Coal Exchange Rules, 2026, notified by the Ministry of Coal on June 4, 2026, provide the regulatory framework for setting up and operating coal exchanges. The online application portal became operational on July 15, allowing prospective participants to submit registration applications.
The CCO has been designated as the authority responsible for registering and overseeing coal exchanges.
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Coal exchanges are intended to provide an organised, market-based platform through which buyers and sellers can trade coal and related products under approved contractual arrangements. The proposed framework seeks to facilitate transparent price discovery, improve access to coal trading and support the use of market instruments to manage price risk.
The applications from the IEX and MCX subsidiaries represent steps towards establishing exchange-based trading infrastructure under the new rules.
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