No plan to de-merge Coal India Ltd subsidiaries, says CIL CMD Pramod Agrawal

There is no plan to de-merge state-run Coal India Ltd’s (CIL) subsidiaries, CMD Pramod Agrawal told shareholders at the PSU’s 47th AGM
No plan to de-merge Coal India Ltd subsidiaries, says CIL CMD Pramod Agrawal
  • There is no such thinking even in the government, that some of the subsidiaries may get demerged from Coal India, said the CIL CMD
  • CIL has plans to increase the price of coal gradually but will do so only after considering the views of all stakeholders, the CMD said

New Delhi: There is no plan to de-merge state-run Coal India Ltd's (CIL) subsidiaries, Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) Pramod Agrawal told shareholders at the PSU's 47th annual general meeting (AGM). The statement was given in response to a question asked by a shareholder regarding the possibility of demerger of Coal India subsidiaries. "There is no such thinking even in the government, that some of the subsidiaries may get demerged from Coal India," said Agrawal.

The CIL CMD also told shareholders at the AGM on September 15 that the company preferred giving dividends over share buybacks because buybacks attract double the taxes as both CIL and its subsidiaries are required to pay taxes. "We are requesting the government to change that mechanism, and if that is changed, perhaps we can go for buyback as well," he said.

CIL plans to increase price of coal slowly: CMD

CIL has plans to increase the price of coal gradually but will do so only after considering the views of all stakeholders, the CMD told shareholders at the AGM. "We cannot increase the price of coal abruptly. It can only be increased slowly, and that we are planning (to do)," said Agrawal. 

"Coal India is planning to increase the price but taking the views of all the stakeholders and getting them on board is essential before we take a decision, because it affects the price of the energy in the country," said the CMD. The statement comes as coal prices in Asia have hit all-time highs due to robust power consumption. 

The state-run coal miner has ramped up coal despatch to the power sector by about 20 percent in September year-on-year in order to address the shortage of coal in thermal power plants. In the backdrop of a rise in international coal prices and a spurt in power demand led by the easing of COVID-related restrictions, power generation at thermal power plants has gone up while coal stocks have declined. In order to address the crisis, the government has rallied all the stakeholders in the coal, power and non-power sector and rationed coal supplies to ensure the availability of coal at thermal power plants.

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