There were 11 companies which were not recommended by Power Ministry but selected by screening committee

The coal ministry has sought information from companies on the progress of 61 captive coal blocks allocated to them.
The blocks are being reviewed for lapses and the companies have been given three-weeks time to respond before taking a final decision on the cancellation of allocations.

Don’t blame just the industry for the country’s mineral production falling 2.5% in April-September, dragging down the overall industrial output and GDP.

Decks have been cleared for India’s first 12-million tonne ultra mega steel plant (UMSP).

State-run mining major NMDC, which has been named the nodal agency for the project by the Prime Minister-led National Manufacturing Competitiveness Council (NMCC), has started the process of acquiring land for the steel plant in Karnataka and plans to invite bids from companies wanting to set up the UMSP.

Company hopeful of bringing 3 operation ready projects on stream shortly, completing its Rs 50,000 cr power investment cycle set in motion 5 yrs back
Vedanta

London-listed metals and mining conglomerate Vedanta Resources Plc expects its operational power generation capacity in India to jump by half to 10,000 Mw within a year. The $15-billion group is hopeful of bringing three operation-ready projects on stream shortly, completing its Rs 50,000-crore power investment cycle set in motion five years back.

Central government will decide if South Korean steelmaker POSCO can have preferential access to an iron ore mine for its planned $12 billion steel plant, a top court said, providing a boost to the troubled project billed as the country's largest foreign direct investment (FDI).

POSCO, the world's fourth-largest steel producer, has waited eight years to get necessary clearances, land and an iron ore mining licence to start work on the plant in eastern Odisha state slated to have a capacity of 12 million tonnes a year.

The steel ministry has asked the environment ministry to expressly revalidate the green clearance to Posco’s stranded steel project in Orissa “to avoid unnecessary noises raised by NGOs and anti-project entities.”

The ministry would also begin fresh talks with the Naveen Patnaik government to stress the need to hand over the land required for the proposed plant.
The South Korean steel company had inked a MoU with Orissa in June 2005 to set up a 12 million tonne integrated steel project in Orissa’s Jagatsinghpur district at an estimated expenditure of Rs 53,000 crore, but the project has been dogged with land acquisition issues.

Policy could end land acquisition and green nod problems, and encourage foreign investors

The new steel policy, likely to be announced in a month, is expected to iron out issues related to foreign direct investments, land acquisitions and environment clearances. The draft of the new policy, seen as a stimulus measure, has been circulated for final comments and it would be announced soon, a senior steel ministry official told Business Standard.

GMR Energy Ltd, a subsidiary of 2.6 billion dollar diversified GMR Group, has started power generation at its thermal power plant in Dhenkanal district. The company has commissioned the first unit of its proposed 3X350 MW power project and synchronised it with the central grid network.

“Work on commissioning the second and third unit is also in progress,” the company said in a press release without elaborating the definite time period for completion of the project.

Posco, Asia’s third-largest steelmaker, agreed to buy a stake in ArcelorMittal Mines Canada Inc, Chung Jae Woong, a Seoul-based spokesman at Posco said.

The Korean steelmaker hasn’t decided on the amount of stake it will purchase or for how much, Chung said on Tuesday. The Maeil Business Newspaper reported earlier on Tuesday Posco will buy a 15 per cent stake in the mine for $1.1 billion. Yonhap News reported a group, including Posco and China Steel Corp, will buy the stake for $1.1 billion. China Steel will invest $540 million, while Posco will spend $270 million, the Korean-language news agency said, citing people it didn’t identify.

During the year, govt also contemplated to open up sector for commercial mining

Coal fired a minefield of controversies in 2012, fuelled by CAG estimates of a huge Rs 1.86 lakh crore loss for allocation of coal blocks to business houses without auction which served as fodder to the Opposition parties to target the government. The blaze started from a leaked draft report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that initially had a figure of Rs 10.6 lakh crore loss resulting from the controversial allocation of coal blocks to about 100 companies without bidding.

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