Coal India invites tender seeking bids from private players for e-auction

State-run Coal India Ltd (CIL) has floated a tender seeking bids from private service providers to conduct e-auctions of the dry fuel for its subsidiaries over the next two years, as per the officials. This move has left external e-auction service providers, such as MSTC and m-junction, who have managed CIL’s auctions through electronic platforms for nearly two decades, confused and they were seeking more clarity before deciding whether to participate in the tender, stakeholders said.

The deadline for submission of bids is November 27. CIL had engaged its subsidiary CMPDI to develop an internal coal e-auction system in collaboration with the National Informatics Centre (NIC), the officials said.

However, there have been complaints about the system's performance, prompting Coal India to seek external platforms for its e-auctions. CIL’s coal volume through the e-auction platform was estimated to reach around 60 million tonnes by September 2024.

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"Engaging service providers to conduct e-auction is aimed at having more options at hand. CIL should be in a position to respond to changing market and consumer requirements," another Coal India official said. The new engagement with external service providers is expected to begin in April next year after the current contracts with service providers expire in March, he said.

The officials are speculating within the industry regarding the future role of CIL's internal e-auction platform. External service providers have expressed concerns about the new tender and are seeking clarity on the scope of work, especially given the CIL’s reliance on its internal system.

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