Coal India Ltd (CIL) on Friday said it has introduced a new category of spot e-auction for importers only and aimed at replacing 150 million tonne of the fuel sourced from abroad with domestic supply.

The coal procured under the "special spot e-auction scheme 2020 for import substitution" will be for use within the country. "This move is in a bid to attain the governments thrust on reducing coal import dependency of the country under the Atma Nirbhar plan. Coal imports of 150 million tonne can be replaced with this new scheme," a Coal India official said.

The miner said the new programme is an addition to its existing four categories of e-auctions. CIL has taken up a new marketing strategy to substitute imported coal with more domestic supplies, the official said.

The Maharatna PSU has identified domestic coal-based power plants and manufacturers of sponge iron, cement, fertilisers, steel and others, who are importing coal, as its potential customers.

These segments of customers had imported around 150 million tonne of coal during the last fiscal, he said.

Indian buyers including traders who imported coal at any point of time in the current fiscal or in the previous two financial years are eligible for participating in this new version of e-auction.

"The minimum bid quantity is pegged at 25,000 tonne for a source in case of road mode transportation. For rail mode transportation, it is at 50,000 tonne, which is equivalent to 12 rakes, the miner said in a statement.

Customers can bid for further incremental quantities of coal if they require, the official said, adding that the miner will commence e-auction under the new scheme from August 2020.

The coal behemoth will unveil the e-auction calendar of the scheme till March 2021. The service providers would be MSTC Ltd and Mjunction Services Ltd for the new scheme, the official added.