He said the bidding had initially been scheduled for April-May, but the process had been delayed owing to some issues pertaining to identification of the blocks and their suitability for respective industries in power, steel and cement. At a review meeting held last month between office of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and officials of the ministry of coal, the former directed that the next round of coal block auctions to be completed by December, as such an exercise was an inherent part of the government’s target of achieving total coal production of 1 billion tons per year by 2020, the official added.
