In a written Lok Sabha reply, the Coal Ministry set out the framework of the Coal Exchange Rules, 2026, which build on the 2020 commercial coal mining reforms that opened coal mining to any eligible company and let captive miners sell up to 50% of production in the open market. A Coal Exchange is defined as an online platform where buyers and sellers of coal and its processed forms transact and enter into delivery-based contracts. The CCO, as regulating Authority, approves bidding and price-discovery mechanisms, contract specifications, and transaction fee ceilings, while exercising market oversight against manipulation, cartelization, insider trading and abuse of dominant position — with powers of intervention, interim orders and inspection. Each Exchange must run a market surveillance committee, an automated audit trail, IT security audits, a disaster-recovery site, and a grievance redressal forum.