♦ The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs approved a new policy mechanism called the CoalSETU window on 12 December 2025, creating a fresh pathway for long-term coal linkages across diverse industrial users and for exports.

♦ The CoalSETU window will be added to the existing Non-Regulated Sector (NRS) Linkage Auction Policy of 2016. Unlike the current system, where linkages are reserved for specified end-use sectors such as cement, sponge iron, aluminium, steel and captive power plants, the new mechanism allows any domestic industrial consumer to participate in auctions.

♦ Under CoalSETU, linkage holders may use coal for their own consumption, washing, or export, but resale within India will be prohibited. Export is allowed for up to 50 percent of the allocated quantity, and companies can distribute coal among their group entities as per operational needs.

♦ The CoalSETU window is the latest in a series of reforms aimed at opening up the coal sector, following earlier steps that allowed commercial mining without end-use restrictions. The new policy is positioned as an extension of that shift, reinforcing the Government’s focus on transparent allocation and optimal utilisation of domestic mineral resources.