Over 100 bidders for coal mine auctions, says Piyush Goyal

New Delhi: Over 100 bidders have already come forward to participate in the forthcoming coal mine auctions, Coal and Power Minister Piyush Goyal said today. "More than 100 bidders have already registered on the website to participate in the bidding process," Goyal said. [caption id="attachment_1836077" align="alignleft" width="380"] Union Minister Piyush Goyal. Image courtesy PIB[/caption]He was speaking to reporters here after the launch of redesigned websites of Ministries of Power, Coal and New & Renewable Energy. When asked about the mines allocation to PSUs, he said it would be done very soon. "We are getting details of coal blocks," he said.The government will put on offer 46 coal blocks and the auction of mines are due next month. The government on 25 December kick-started the auction process for coal mines that were de-allocated by the Supreme Court. The government has already put on website the list of 17 coal blocks which would be allotted to government companies. The minister further said a lot of wrong impression is being sought to be created on the government inviting financial bids along with the technical bids in the first instance. "There is a deliberate misinformation campaign going on that the government should not invite financial bid along with the technical bid. Some vested interests are trying to propagate the theory that we are trying to restrict the bidding.Defending the decision, he said that "we can get aggressive bidding right from the beginning". On US President Barack Obama's forthcoming visit to India, Goyal said India is looking forward to deepening ties with Washington."The country attaches a lot of importance to President Obama's visit. It gives great signal of deep engagement and friendship between the two countries and we are looking forward to a very successful, very engaging meeting with him," he said. PTI