The Union Cabinet has approved a policy under which central or state government-run firms to surrender non-operational mines without penalty. The central government will again auction those mines to increase output. The firms will be able to surrender the mines without forfeiting the bank guarantee under one time three month window. According to the data provided by the ministry, 60% of the 73 coal mines allotted to the state firms were non-operational as of December 2021, with 19 of them missing to start production.
