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The Ministry of Coal has notified the 'Coal Exchange Rules, 2026' (Gazette Notification G.S.R. 442(E), dated 4 June 2026) under Section 18B(3) of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 — a provision inserted by the MMDR Amendment Act, 2025.
The Coal Controller Organisation (CCO) has been appointed (Notification S.O. 5730(E), 10 December 2025) as the authority to register and regulate Coal Exchange(s) to be set up in the country.
Any entity, including captive and commercial coal miners, can transact and enter delivery-based contracts on the Exchange, with the CCO-approved bidding mechanism and quality-based price adjustment designed to prevent market manipulation.
Establish a structured, transparent platform for trading and delivery-based coal contracts, replacing ad hoc bilateral pricing with market-based price discovery
Key: Open to captive and commercial miners alike; includes a market oversight and surveillance mechanism to prevent manipulation/abuse; public-sector coal companies may also participate
Amended the MMDR Act, 1957 to support the National Critical Mineral Mission and modernise India's minerals market
Key: Besides inserting Section 18B enabling coal/mineral exchanges, it renamed and expanded the National Mineral Exploration Trust into the National Mineral Exploration and Development Trust (contribution raised from 2% to 3% of royalty) and allowed captive mines to sell their entire output in the open market
Section 18B is the enabling provision for setting up mineral/coal exchanges as electronic trading platforms; Section 18B(3) specifically empowers the Central Government to frame rules — the source of the Coal Exchange Rules, 2026
Subordinate office of the Ministry of Coal; now also the designated authority to register and regulate Coal Exchange(s); originally set up to ensure coal supply control during World War I, it is also India's primary source of coal statistics (Coal Directory of India) and approves mine plans/closure plans
Renamed and expanded by the same MMDR Amendment Act, 2025 that enabled the Coal Exchange — both provisions modernise how India's minerals sector is funded and priced
The Coal Exchange complements, rather than replaces, existing coal linkage auctions — the Exchange is for spot/delivery-based trading, while linkage auctions allocate long-term supply commitments to end-use sectors
GS Paper 3 > Economy > Mineral and Energy Resources; Polity > Delegated Legislation
New — first major coal-market-reform article of this cycle
Provision inserted by the MMDR Amendment Act, 2025 empowering the Central Government to enable mineral/coal exchanges and frame rules for them
Kolkata-headquartered subordinate office of the Ministry of Coal, now also the designated regulator of India's Coal Exchange(s)