Coal news and updates

Coal India announces interim dividend; govt to get Rs17,308 crore

The government will get Rs.17,308 crore in interim dividend from Coal India Ltd as it seeks to explore more options to garner non-tax revenue.

Coal India on Saturday declared an interim dividend of Rs.27.40 per share and the total outgo will be Rs.20,830 crore, including dividend tax. The largest beneficiary will be the central government which holds 79.64% and will get a dividend ofRs.17,308 crore, a communique said.

The government has been able to mobilise a little over Rs.18,300 crore from divestment this fiscal till February against the target of Rs.69,500 crore due to volatility in stock markets. As an alternative to selling stake through public offers, the government had asked cash-rich Coal India Ltd, National Aluminium Co. Ltd (NALCO), NMDC Ltd and MOIL Ltd among half a dozen PSUs to buy back shares or announce additional dividend on the top of mandated 30%.

The government has raised over Rs 18,330 crore this fiscal so far through disinvestment in six PSUs—NTPC Ltd (Rs.5,030 crore), Rural Electrification Corp. (Rs.1,608 crore), Power Finance Corp. (Rs.1,671 crore), Dredging Corp. of India Ltd (Rs.53.33 crore), Indian Oil Corp. (Rs.9,369 crore) and Engineers India Ltd (Rs.640 crore).

Livemint.com