The third phase of Indian coal block auctions culminated on 13 August 2015. Jaypee Cement won Maharashtra’s Majra mine, the only mine to be claimed on the last day.
The company claimed the mine at Rs 1230/t which would ensue Rs 1835 crore to the state over a 30 year period. The latest round of auctions, that features three blocks, will fetch over Rs 4300 crore to Chhattisgarh, Maharashtra and Jharkhand over 30 years.
The government had originally planned to auction 10 blocks in the this final phase, although it could only auction 3 mines due to roadblocks, including a court order and a lack of interest among bidders.
Jharkhand’s Chitrapur block is likely to be auctioned at a later date as it was held back on owing to the Delhi High Court order that had asked the government to defer auction for the block by a day.
Media speculation suggests that the Jaypee Group is in talks with other cement companies about forming a joint venture for the majority of its existing plants.
The Indian High Commissioner handed over the first delivery of 10 000 bags of cement to the Secretary of the Ministry of Resettlement and Disaster Relief services for resettled civilians in Northern Sri Lanka.
India and China have agreed to coordinate efforts to combat climate change. Neither country will agree to emissions caps, particularly while the US has not legislated emissions reduction. All three nations will be at the centre of talks at COP15.