E-Auction of Coal India Limited: A Project Report ON

A PROJECT REPORT
ON
E-AUCTION OF COAL INDIA LIMITED
Submitted to
FOR THE PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD

OF BACHELOR OF BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION (2017-2020)
UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: SUMITTED BY:

Ms. PARUL BANSAL Mr. MANOJ KUMAR
(Management trainee) Roll No.- 18BC8690099
RANCHI UNIVERSITY
Department of business management
Gossner college Ranchi

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
I would like to thank Mrs .Parul Bansal for her constant support,
timely advice and guidance during the whole process of training for
completing my project on E-AUCTIONS IN COAL INDIA . It was
a great pleasure to complete this project with the support of her
experience and help. I would also like to thank C.C.L for giving me
opportunities to work on project under the guidance of Mrs. Parul
Bansal and employees of the company.
Secondly, I would like to thanks my friends , families ,

who helped me a lot in finalising this project within limited time
frame…
CERTIFICATE
This is to certify that the project entitled “E-Auction in Coal India
Limited with Reference to Central Coalfields Limited” in a partial
fulfillment of requirement for the completion of Bachelor in
Business Administration in “School of Management Studies
Gossner College, Ranchi”.
This project report is the record of authentic work carried out by the
below mentioned trainee under our supervision and guidance
during the period starting from 19th of November 2019 to 6th of
January2020.
Our best wishes for his future prospective.
MANOJ KUMAR Mr.Parul Bansal

(Marketing & Sales)
CONTENTS
I. Executive Summary….……………………….………………….1
II. Introduction..……………………………………………………..2
III. About CIL……………………………………...............................4
IV. About CCL…………..……………………………………….….8
V. Company Profile………………………………………………..10
VI. About Coal………………………………………………....……12
VII. Type Of Coal……………………………………………………13
VIII. Classification Of Coal…………………………………………16
IX. E-Auction In Coal India………………………………………..19
X. Type Of Coal………………………………………….. 21
XI. E- Auction Methodology……………………………... 28
XII. Data Collection………………………………………...29
XIII. Data Analysis…………………………………………..36
XIV. Objective Of The Study……………………………....41
XV. Main Finding…………………………………………41
XVI. Suggestion……………………………………….. …….42
XVII. Conclusion……………………………………………..43
XVIII. Bibliography……………………………………………43
XIX. Questionnaire…………………………………………..44
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This project has been a great learning experience for me; at the same time it gave me enough
scope to implement my analytical ability.
Prior to nationalization entire amount of coal was sold through middle- men or agents on
behalf of producers and consumers and their commission was fixed under the colliery control
order. After nationalization of coal sector, demand from non-core consumers slowly built up
to unrealistic level leading to rationalization of coal demand versus availability. It necessitate
introduction of the system of linkage for non-core sector consumers like core sector. But this
system for supply of coal to consumers of non- core sector suffered from disadvantages like
because of inadequacy in availability of coal new linkage could not be granted after 2001,
consumers purchasing from black market etc.
After complete decontrol of coal distribution from 1.1.2004 many traders/consumers

challenged the system of linkage/sponsorship in non-core sector in Courts. CIL submitted a
special leave petition to evolve a new system based on modern technology. CIL wanted to
evolve a transparent and equitable policy of coal marketing to all non-core sector consumers
making use of modern technology through electronic auction route. During the year 2005-06,
E-marketing was conducted in all the coal producing subsidiaries of CIL. The government in
2007 announced its new policy for distribution of coal (NCDP), which re- introduced e-
auction and for the first time made it binding on the producers to deliver assured supplies of
coal at the pre-determined price. In 2008 Coal India Ltd introduced forward e-auction of coal.
The new instrument was launched on the existing spot e-auction platform to help the users
especially the small and medium enterprises (SME) plan their procurement on a long-term
basis. Presently CIL is conducting e-Auction through the following service providers MSTC
India and Metal Junction.
All the topics have been covered in a very systematic way. The language has been kept
simple so that even a layman could understand.
Through this project I have tried to put forward how Coal India Limited can excel in the field
of E-Auctioning by opening their own E-marketing site. I have used both primary and
secondary data for my project. From the study it has been concluded that CIL should first
build their infrastructure properly to open their own E-Auctioning site by training their
employees and educating their clients about it.
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INTRODUCTION
The use of on-line auctions (e-auctions) has increased rapidly in the last few
years since they came onto the purchasing scene in the late 1990’s through the
development of internet-based applications. Research undertaken by CIPS in
conjunction with Oracle and the University of West England - IAdapt,-
estimates that, within the UK alone, during 2002 there have been at least 2500
individual e-auctions undertaken by buyers and that they have grown at least
ten fold each year since their arrival. The Financial Times stated on 13/03/02
that worldwide e-auctions turnover had reached $30bn with savings of $6.4bn.
e-auctions initiated by the buyer use the internet to share communications, and
this provides both buyers and suppliers with visibility of bid status in real-time
and allows an instant response. If conducted properly with adequate participant
training, it creates a more level playing field for suppliers through increased
transparency. An e-auction allows for a bid on price and/or other quantitative
attributes such as carriage charge, quantity discounts, quality etc. e-auctions
should be considered as a tool in the buyer’s e-sourcing toolkit. They can be
used to renew existing contracts or offer consolidated spend opportunities.
They can be used to negotiate significant spot purchases and can be used to
receive pricing on frequently tendered communications or service.
E-marketing: The Strategic Planning-

Strategic planning is the “managerial process developing and maintaining a
viable fit
between the organizations objectives, skills, and resources and its changing
market
opportunities” Strategic planning are long-term plans based on the
organizations overall business objectives. Strategic plans are typically multiple
years and reach out 5 or 10 years (or more) using Scenarios or other planning
methods that identifies assumptions, risks, and environmental factors. Online
firms follow an e-business model and analysis of external factors like legal and
technological issues can really help to drive a successful e-business plan. Dave
Chaffey (2006) presents a model of strategic e-marketing on his website
davechaffey.com (figure 2.4). He divides the whole e-marketing process into
three activities: ‘Defining the online opportunity’, ‘Selecting the strategic
approach’ and ‘Delivering results online’.
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(Chaffey)
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COAL INDIA Limited
(Cil)
Coal India Limited(CIL) the state owned coal mining corporate came into
being in November 1975. With a modest production of 79 Million Tonnes
(MTs) at the year of its inception CIL today is the single largest coal producer
in the world and one of the largest corporate employer. Operating through 83
mining areas and spread over eight (8) provincial states of India. CIL is an
apex body with 7 wholly owned coal producing subsidiaries and 1 mine
planning and consultancy company spread over 8 provincial states of India.
CIL also manages establishments like workshops, hospitals etc. and also owns
27 training institutes and 76 Vocational Training Institutes Centres. Indian
Institute of Coal Management (IICM) as a state-of-the-art Management
Training ‘Centre of Excellence’ – the largest Corporate Training Institute in
India - operates under CIL and conducts multi-disciplinary management
development programmes.
CIL is a Maharatna company - a privileged status conferred by Government of
India to select state owned enterprises in order to empower them to expand
their operations and emerge as global giants. The select club has only ten
members out of more than three hundred Central Public Sector Enterprises in
the country.
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The producing Indian subsidiary companies of Coal India Limited:
1. Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL)

2. Central Coalfields Limited (CCL)
3. Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL)
4. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL)
5. Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL)
6. South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL)
7. Western Coalfields Limited (WCL)
1. Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) - Bharat coking Coal Limited is a
subsidiary of Coal India Limited with its headquarters in Dhanbad, India. It
was incorporated in January, 1972 to operate coking coal mines operating in
Jharia and Raniganj Coalfields. Areas served: Jharkhand, West Bengal
2. Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) - Central Coalfields Limited is a
subsidiary of Coal India Limited, an undertaking of the government of India.
CCL manages the nationalized coal mines of the Coal Mines Authority,
Central division. CCL is headquartered at Darbhanga House, Ranchi,
Jharkhand. Founded: 1 November 1975 Subsidiary: Jharkhand Central Railway
Limited
3. Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) - ECL is a coal producer based in India.
The company was founded in 1975 after nationalization of coal mines in India.
It operates coalmines in Jharkhand and W.B states of India. It inherited all the
private sector coal of Raniganj Coalfield. It is headquartered at Dishergarh,
West Bengal.
4. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) – MCL is one of the major coal
producing company of India. It is one of the eight subsidiaries of Coal India.
MCL was carved out of South Eastern Coalfields Limited in 1992 with its
headquarters at Sambalpur.
5. Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) - NCL was founded on November 1985.
It’s headquarter is situated at Singrauli, Madhya Pradesh.
6. South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL) - SECL is the largest coal
producing company of India. It is a “Miniratna” company and one of eight
fully owned subsidiaries of Coal India. Headquarter: Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh
Owner: Government of India Founded: 1985 Subsidiaries: Chhattisgarh East
West Railway Limited, Chhattisgarh East Railway ltd etc.
7. Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) - Western Coalfields Limited is one of
the eight subsidiaries of Coal India Limited which is under administrative
control of Ministry of Coal. The company incorporated under Companies Act,
1956 has its registered office at Coal Estate, Civil Lines, Nagpur- 440001. It
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was founded on 1975.
One mine planning and consultancy company of Coal India Limited is Central
Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL). In addition, CIL has a
foreign subsidiary in Mozambique namely Coal India Africana Limitada
(CIAL). The mines in Assam i.e. North Eastern Coalfields are managed
directly by CIL.
▪ Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has four (4) subsidiaries which are
▪ MJSJ Coal Limited

▪ MNH Shakti Ltd
▪ Mahanadi Basin Power Ltd
▪ Neelanchal Power Transmition Company Private Ltd
▪ SECL has two subsidiaries
▪ M/s Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd (CERL)

▪ M/s Chhattisgarh East- West Railway Ltd (CEWRL)
▪ CCL has one subsidiary
▪ Jharkhand Central Railway Ltd
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HISTORY OF COAL INDIA LIMITED
YEAR EVENT
1774 Warren Hastings initiates commercial coal mining at Raniganj (West
Bengal).
1815- First Shaft Mine opened at Raniganj.
1820
1835 Carr, Tagore & Company takes over the Raniganj Coal mines.
1843 Bengal Coal Company.
Up to Minimal development; River transportation used to transport coal to
1900 Calcutta, railway lines at Calcutta leads to expansion of Coal Production.
Early Capacity at 6 million tones per annum.
1900s
1955-56 Focus on Coal Industry, capacity up to 38.4 Million tones
1956 National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC) formed to explore and
expand coal mining in Public Sector.
1972 Coking Coal Industry Nationalized, Bharat Coking Coal mines in Jharia
Coalfield.
1973 Non-coking coal nationalized, Coal Mine Authority Limited set up to
manage these mines, NCDC operations bought under the ambit of
CMAL.
1975 Coal India Limited formed as holding Company with 5 subsidiaries viz.
Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL),
Western Coalfields Limited (WCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL) and
Central Mine Planning and Design Institute Limited(CMPDIL).
1985 Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) and South Eastern Coalfields Limited
(SECL) carved out of CCL and WCL.
1992 Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) formed out of SECL to manage the
Talcher and IB Valley Coalfields in Orissa.
2000 De-regulation of Coal pricing and distribution of coal.
2008 Coal India Ltd has been conferred the Navratna status.
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CENTRAL COAL FIELD
(LIMITED (CCL)
Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited

(CIL), an undertaking of the Government of India. CCL manages the
nationalized coal mines of the Coal Mines Authority, Central Division. CCL
is headquartered at Darbhanga House, Ranchi, Jharkhand. Company is
governed by a Board of Directors consisting of 5 full time directors and 6 part
time directors. Full time directors are responsible for specific functions of
operation, project & planning, finance and personnel. India is the third largest
country in the production of coal.
It presently has 65 operative mines (20 underground and 45 opencast) in areas
of East Bokaro, West Bokaro, North karanpura, South Karanpura,
Ramgarh, Giridih&Hutaretc.
Type : Public sector undertaking Government-owned
Industry: Coal
Founded: 1November, 1975

Headquarters: Ranchi, Jharkhand
Products: Coal
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HISTORICAL BACKGROUND
Coal mining was started in India in the year 1815. The private Railways
Companies started mining activities in the year 1850. The Railway Board
Nationalized the coal mining in 1925. The Railway collieries were transferred
to the Coal Board in the year 1944.
In 1956 National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC) formed to explore

and expand coal mining in Public Sector. In 1972 Coking Coal Industry mines in
Jharia Coalfield. In 1973 Non-coking coal was nationalized; Coal Mine
Authority Limited set up to manageThese mines; NCDC operations bought
under the ambit of CMAL. In 1975 Coal India Limited formed a holding
Company with 5 subsidiaries viz.
Bharat Coking Coal Limited(BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited(CCL), Western

Coalfields Limited(WCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited(ECL) and Central Mine
Planning and Design Institute Limited(CMPDIL) in 1985.
Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) and South Eastern Coalfields Limited

(SECL) carved out of CCL and WCL in 1992. Mahanadi Coalfields Limited
(MCL) formed out of SECL to manage the Talcher and IB Valley Coalfields in
Orissa. In 2007 Coal India & five of its Subsidiaries, viz. NCL, SECL, MCL,
CCL, was accorded coveted “Mini Ratna” Status.
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Company Profile
Overview
CCL is a corporate member of the forum of WIPS formed under the aegis of
SCOPE. India has had a legacy of women in empowered positions, right from the
ancient days. These women were educated in the Vedas and trained to be scholars.
Women in India have proved their mettle in multiple fields be it technology, literature,
art, sports, business or even space. India too has its own pool of such bold and
fearless women who have made a mark for themselves both within the country as
well as overseas. We have glaring examples of Chanda Kochhar, Indra Nooyi, Sania
Mirza, Saina Nehwal, Kiran Mazumdar Shaw, PT Usha, Kalpana Chawla, Sunita
Williams and the list is endless.
CCL is one of the biggest women employers amongst PSU.As on 01.09.2014
the strength of female employees in CCL is 4772 (Executives-145 and Non-
Executives -4627).CCL has taken an initiative to create a forum for the women
employees of its family which will aid in enhancing their capabilities and potential as
well as throw light on the achievement made by them so far.
Vision
To encompass every women employee in its ambit and enhance professionalism
and competency, creating an enabling environment, leading to synergy.
Mission
► To be an active & vibrant forum
► To enhance professionalism and proficiency of working women in PSEs.
► To ensure holistic development of women at large
► To promote an enabling and conducive environment at work place.
Company has
Number of Mines 62 Operative Mines (22 Underground & 40 Opencast

Mines)
7 Washeries
Washeries 5 Coking Coal Washeries (Kathara, Rajrappa, Kedla &
Sawang, Kargali)
2 Non-Coking Coal Washeries (Piparwar & Giddi)
Repair/Workshops 1 Central Workshop (ISO 9001) at Barkakana
5 Regional Repair/Workshops (3 w/s are ISO 9001) at
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Jarandih, Tapin North, Dakra, Giridih & Bhurkunda
Operating Coalfields 7 Coalfields (East Bokaro, West Bokaro, North
Karanpura, South Karanpura, Ramgarh, Giridih & Hutar)
Geological Coal Reserves in CCL Command Area up to 300m & above
depth (as on 01.04.2015)
CURRENT
PICTURE OF THE COMPANY
Production-
Coal India Limited has been able to maintain its record of growth and excellence
inperformance in another fiscal 2008-09. Coal India Limited as a whole achieved raw coal
production of 402.73 million tones which is 24.27 million tones more than the production
achieved previous year, registering a growth of 6.4%.
Sales
Gross sales of Coal India Limited during the fiscal Rs 45,682Crores registering a growth of
17.54% compared to last fiscal.
E-auction of coal-The e-auction sale of coal increased sharply during 2008-09. The total
quantity allocated during 2008-09 through online bidding by 69.7% to a level of 48.8 million
tones from the previous fiscal’s 28.79 million tones.
Profit-
Coal India Limited as a whole, on alike to like basis, made a profit
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(before tax and dividend) of Rs12,103.311Crores provisional during the year 2008-09 as
against 8,738.46Crores in 2007-08. However , after taking into account the impact of upward
of upward revision of wage for wage board employees with effect from 01.07.2006 and that
of executives in 01.07.2007 the PBT is Rs 4,238.58Crores (provisional) for 2008-09. The
impact on account of pay revision is estimated at Rs5,410.48crores plus incremental actuarial
liability of Rs2,454.25crores.
Coal
Coal is a fussil fuel and is the altered remains of prehistoric vegetation that
originally accumulated in swamps and peat bogs.The energy we got from coal
today comes from the energy that plants absorbed from the sun millions of
years ago.
Coal is a hard rock which can be burned as a solidfossil fuel. It is mostly carbon but also
contains hydrogen, sulphur, oxygen and nitrogen. It is a sedimentary rock formed from
peat, by the pressure of rocks laid down later on top.
It is generally accepted that most coals formed from plants that grew in and adjacent to
swamps in warm, humid regions. Material derived from these plants accumulated in
low-lying areas that remained wet most of the time and was converted to peat through
the activity of microorganisms. (It should be noted that peat can occur in temperate
regions [e.g., Ireland and the state of Michigan in the United States] and even in
subarctic regions [e.g., the Scandinavian countries].) Under certain conditions this
organic material continued to accumulate and was later converted into coal. Much of the
plant matter that accumulates on the surface of Earth is never converted to peat or to
coal, because it is removed by fire or organic decomposition. Hence, the vast coal
deposits found in ancient rocks must represent periods during which several favourable
biological and physical processes occurred at the same time.
Evidence that coal was derived from plants comes from three principal sources. First,
lignites, the lowest coal rank, often contain recognizable plant remains. Second,
sedimentary rock layers above, below, and adjacent to coal seams contain plant fossils in
the form of impressions and carbonized films (e.g., leaves and stems) and casts of larger
parts such as roots, branches, and trunks. Third, even coals of advanced rank may reveal
the presence of precursor plant material. When examined microscopically in thin
sections or polished blocks, cell walls, cuticles (the outer wall of leaves), spores, and
other structures can still be recognized (see below Macerals ). Algal and fungal type of
saprogenic coal.)
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Peat, and therefore coal, is formed from the remains of plants which lived millions of
years ago in tropical wetlands, such as those of the late Carboniferous period (the
Pennsylvanian). Also wood heated in an airless space can make charcoal remains also
may be present. (Algae are major components in bog head coal, a, which is like coal.
Coal can be burned for energy or heat. About two-thirds of the coal mined today is
burned in power stations to make electricity. Like oil, when coal is burned its carbon
joins with oxygen in the air and makes a lot of carbon dioxide, which causesclimate
change. Because of that and other air pollution from coal most countries are turning to
new sources of energy, such as solar power. But new coal power plants are still being
built in some parts of the world, such as China.
Coal can be roasted (heated very hot in a place where there is no oxygen) to produce
coke. Coke can be used in smelting to reduce metals from their ores.
FORMATION OF COAL
All living plants store solar energy through a process known as photosynthesis. When
plants die, this energy is usually released as the plants decay. Under conditions
favourable to coal formation, the decaying process is interrupted, preventing the release
of the stored solar energy. The energy is locked into the coal.
Coal formation began during the Carboniferous Period - known as the first coal age -
which spanned 360 million to 290 million years ago. The build-up of silt and other
sediments, together with movements in the earth's crust - known as tectonic movements -
buried swamps and peat bogs, often to great depths. With burial, the plant material was
subjected to high temperatures and pressures. This caused physical and chemical
changes in the vegetation, transforming it into peat and then into coal.
TYPES OF COAL
(1) Coking Coal
(2) Non Coking Coal
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1) Coking Coal - Coking coal is a grade of coal that can be used to produce
good-quality coke. Coke is an essential fuel and reactant in the blast furnace
process for primary steelmaking. The demand for metallurgical coal is highly
coupled to the demand for steel. Primary steelmaking companies often have a
division that produces coal for coking, to ensure a stable and low-cost supply.
Metallurgical coal is low in ash, moisture, sulfur and phosphorus content, and is usually
of Bituminous rank. Some grades of Anthracite coal are used for sintering, pulverized
coal injection, direct blast furnace charge, pelletizing, and in production of ferro-alloys,
silicon-manganese, calcium-carbide and silicon-carbide. Metallurgical coal produces
strong, low-density coke produced when it is heated in a low-oxygen environment. On
heating, the coal softens, and volatile components evaporate and escape through pores in
the mass. During coking, the material swells and increases in volume. The coking ability
of coal is related to its physical properties such as its rank, but laboratory testing is
required to completely evaluate the coking ability of a coal. The strength and density of
coke are particularly important when it is used in a blast furnace, as the coke supports
part of the ore and flux burden inside the furnace.
Coking Coal or Metallurgical coal is used in manufacturing steel, where carbon must be
as volatile-free and ash-free as possible. Coking coal is also heated to produce coke, a
hard porous material which is used to blast in furnaces for the extraction of iron from the
iron ore.
Coking Coal - These coals, when heated in the absence of air from coherent beads, free
from volatiles, with strong and porous mass, called Coke.
• These have coking properties.

• Mainly used in steel making and metallurgical industries.
• Also used for hard coke manufacturing.
Grade of Coking Coal
Grade Parameter
Steel I Ash > 15%

Steel II Ash > 15% < 18 %
Washery I Ash > 18% < 21 %
Washery II Ash > 18% < 21 %
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Washery III Ash > 24% < 28 %
Washery IV Ash > 28% < 35 %
2) Non Coking Coal
Non Coking Coal does not have any caking properties and it is mainly used as thermal
coal for power generation. It has a higher ash content and also used in industries like
cement, fertilizer, glass, ceramic, paper, chemical and brick manufacturing. Indian Non
Coking Coal is classified on the basis of Gross Calorific Value (GCV) which consists of
17 GCV bands.
Non- Coking Coal - These are coals without coking properties.

• Mainly used as thermal grade coal for power generation.
• Also used for cement, fertilizers, glass, ceramic, paper, chemical and brick
manufacturing and for other heating purposes.
Grade of NON-COKING COAL

Grade Gross Calorific Value bands for
Non-Coking Coals (In Kilo
Calories/Kilograms
G1 Above 7000
G2 6701 to 7000
G3 6401 to 6700
G4 6101 to 6400
G5 5801 to 6100
G6 5501 to 5800
G7 5201 to 5500
G8 4901 to 5200
G9 4601 to 4900
G10 4301 to 4600
G11 4001 to 4300
G12 3701 to 4000
G13 3401 to 3700
G14 3101 to 3400
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G15 2801 to 3100
G16 2501 to 2800
G17 2201 to 2500
CLASSIFICATION OF COAL
The four types of coal are peat, lignite, bituminous, and anthracite. Peat is
often not listed as a type of coal since the use of it as an energy source is
limited today. However, it's still a type of coal and can be used as an energy
source.
1) Peat is the first step in coal formation. Peat is composed of over 60%
organic matter; typically, ferns and vegetation found in swamps or bogs.
As a result of the high water content of this environment, peat contains a
lot of water, which limits its heat content or the amount of energy it
contains. It's a very soft brown coal.
• First stage of transformation.

• Contains less than 40 to 55 per cent carbon == more impurities.
• Contains sufficient volatile matter and lot of moisture [more smoke and more
pollution].
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• Left to itself, it burns like wood, gives less heat, emits more smoke and leaves
a lot of ash.
2) Lignite, Eventually over time, with increasing pressures and temperatures, peat is
'cooked' into coal's next stage, lignite. Lignite is a soft brown coal that still contains a
high amount of water. Lignite has a higher heat content than peat but is still not the
most desired form of coal. However, lignite makes up almost half of our known coal
reserves.
• Brown coal.
• Lower grade coal.
• 40 to 55 per cent carbon.
• Intermediate stage.
• Dark to black brown.
• Moisture content is high (over 35 per cent).
• It undergoes SPONTANEOUS COMBUSTION [Bad. Creates fire accidents in
mines]
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3) Bituminous coal is formed as more pressure is applied to lignite coal. The greater the
pressure applied, the more water is expelled, which increases the amount of pure
carbon present and increases the heat content of the coal. Bituminous coal is often
classified as sub-bituminous or bituminous. The difference is that sub-bituminous is
the transition stage from lignite to bituminous coal. Bituminous coal is widely used in
the United States and across Europe.
• Soft coal; most widely available and used coal.

• Derives its name after a liquid called bitumen.
• Moisture and volatile content (15 to 40 per cent)
• Dense, compact, and is usually of black colour.
• Does not have traces of original vegetable material.
• Calorific value is very high due to high proportion of carbon and low
moisture.
• Used in production of coke and gas.
4) Anthracite coal is a metamorphic rock and is considered the highest grade coal. It's
hard and dark black in color. It has a very light weight when compared to other forms
of coal, as there is very little water present in anthracite. As a result, anthracite has
the highest heat content. Anthracite is formed when bituminous coal is subjected to
great pressures, such as those associated with the folding of rock
• Best quality; hard coal.

• Very little volatile matter.
• Negligibly small proportion of moisture.
• Semi-metallic lustre.
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• Ignites slowly == less loss of heat == highly efficient.
• Ignites slowly and burns with a nice short blue flame. [Complete
combustion == Flame is BLUE == little or no pollutants. Example: LPG]
• In India, it is found only in Jammu and Kashmir and that too in small quantity.
E-AUCTION IN COAL INDIA

Electronic auctions are on-line auctions where selected bidders submit offers electronically
against the purchaser’s specification. All communication following and including the
invitation to pre-qualified bidders to submit new prices and/or values must be instantaneous
(electronic). Electronic auctions can be used for goods, services and works.
Electronic auctions refer to those auctions conducted through the Internet with
the bidders (from one or more locations) simultaneously bidding to be selected for supplying
the item/s on auction. In other words, the venue for the auction is on an Internet website/
platform. The "Service Provider's" website assigned by "Service Provider" would constitute
venue for the purpose of the online auction.
Examples for the different types of e-auction
• B2B: Product exchange and wholesale quotation

• B2C: B2C reaches from Online-Shopping, tourism and the booking of a trip,
reservations of tickets, to services in finance and insurance and to auctions.
• C2C: Typically C2C-transactions are auctions and file sharing services. Some
examples are ciao.de and e-bay.
The auctioneer offers his goods, commodities or services on an auction site on the
internet. Interested parties can submit their bid for the product to be auctioned in
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certain specified periods. The auction is transparent, and all interested parties are
allowed to participate in the auction in a timely manner.[
The two major types of the electronic auction are forward auction in which several
buyers bid for one seller's goods, and reverse auction, in which several sellers bid for
one buyer's order.
Forward auctions take the form of a single seller offering an item for sale, with
buyers competing to secure the item by bidding the price upward. Forward auctions
are better understood by the public than reverse auctions, primarily because they are
widely used at the consumer level. Forward auctions underlie eBay and other online
auction sites to auctions of art, wine, and other collectibles. They are also widely
used for auctioning everything from automobiles, real estate, machinery, etc., where
the goal is for the seller to receive the most money possible for the item being offered
at auction. Thus, a forward auction is to be utilized for sales of goods and services of
all types, whether conducted online, offline, or a hybrid of the two.
Reverse auctions are the other major form of auctions. In a reverse auction, a single
buyer makes potential sellers aware of their intent to buy a specified good or service.
During the course of the actual reverse auction event, the sellers bid against one
another to secure the buyer’s business, driving the price to be paid for the item
downward. Thus, the winning bidder is the seller who offers the lowest price.
Reverse auctions are most typically used for procurement by private companies,
public sector agencies, and non-profit organizations.
Fig.1 This diagram shows the process of a forward auction
Bidding
Bidding is an offer (often competitive) of setting a price one is willing to pay for
something. A price offer is called a bid. The term may be used in context of auctions, stock
exchange, card games, or real estate transactions. Bidding up means raising a price for an
item by a series of rising bids.
Bidder
Page | 20
Contractor, supplier, or a vendor who responds to an invitation to bid (ITB), is also called as
offerer or quoter.
Coal India initially introduced this new system of e-auction in Bharat coking coal
limited in 2004 and to expand the scope of e-marketing sale of coal, based on the
experience gained from the initial e-marketing conducted in BCCL, the Govt. decided to sell
10 million tonnes of coal initially by CIL subsidiaries through e-marketing for the year
2005-06 on trial basis. After watching the performance of sale through e-marketing, another
10 million tonnes has been allocated under this for the remaining period of the current
financial year. A total number of 17403 bidders participated in the e-auction and 10526
were successful. The total gain to CIL has been Rs. 565.36crores.
The scheme is open to consumers of core and non-core sector as well as traders who can
participate and bid for the quantity as per their requirement from their preferred sources. The
system would further eliminate the unscrupulous traders and black marketers.
TYPE OF E AUCTION
1.Forward e-auction
2.Spot e-auction
3.Exclusive e-auction[it is for non power consumer]
4.Special forward e-auction[only for Indian buyer]
1.Forward e-auction
Forward auction are electronic auctions, which can be used by sellers to sell their items to
many potential buyers. Sellers and buyers can be individuals, organizations etc. Items are
commonly placed at a special site for auction (e.g. eBay.com). Buyers can continuously bid
for the items they are interested in. Eventually the highest bidder wins the item. In this type of
auction there is one buyer and a single seller.
In terms new coal sales policy of Ministry Of Coal, a new scheme called
“E-AUCTION SCHEME 2007” for forward e-auction has been formulated and circulated
for implementation with due approval of COAL INDIA LIMITED BOARD in October
2007.
Under this system, all consumers of coal located in India, such as proprietorship/partnership
firms registered in India, companies incorporated in India and aiming for supply over a long
period can participate for procurement of coal for their own consumption, but not for transfer,
resale or export.
CIL, on its part, has imposed certain conditions for participation in this type of auction. The
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conditions have been imposed keeping in mind the fact that coal is a scarce commodity, to
put a check on any possible black marketing and also to ensure that only genuine consumers
participated in the auctions.
Objective
Coal distribution through forward e-auction is aimed to provide access to coal for such coal
consumers who wish to have an assured supply over a long period, say one year, through e-
auction mode so as to plan their operation etc.
The purpose of forward e-auction is to provide equal opportunities to all intending coal
consumers to purchase coal for own consumption through single window services as per
requirement and at a price determined by themselves through the process of online bidding.
Forward e-auction will facilitate all the consumers of coal across the country with wide
ranging choice for booking coal online, enabling them to buy coal through a simple,
transparent and customer-friendly system of marketing of coal.
2.Spot e-auction
In order to provide coal to small companies and those without linkages, the government in
2007 introduced a system called spot e-auction of coal in which coal was offered for sale
through the process of online bidding. In this system, any registered entity, including traders,
could purchase coal either for its own consumption or for sale to actual consumers. CIL, on its
part, has imposed certain conditions for participation in this type of auction. The conditions
have been imposed keeping in mind the fact that coal is a scarce commodity, to put a check
on any possible black marketing and also to ensure that only genuine consumers participated
in the auctions.
Objective
Coal distribution through e-Auction has been introduced with a view to
provide access to coal for such buyers who are not able to source coal through the available
institutional mechanism. In the long run it is expected that e-Auction may help in creating
spot as well as future market of coal in the country.
The purpose of e-Auction is to provide equal opportunity to purchase coal through single
window service to all intending Buyers.
E - Auction has been introduced to facilitate across the country wide
ranging access to book coal on-line for all sections of coal Buyers enabling them to buy coal
through a simple, transparent and consumer friendly system of marketing and distribution of
coal.
Features of normal bidding process

• Goods kept on auction floor.
• Auction event on fixed date and time and place
• Earnest money taken.
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• Physical presence of bidder and oral bids needed.
• Any numbers of bid are allowed but within fixed time. Bidding stops if no bid is received
before three hammer warning.
• Bidders remain identified in a physical gathering.
Features of electronic bidding process
• Coal is made available at rail heads or pit heads or satellite delivery points.
• Auction event on same principle but converted to information technology platform.
• Earnest money is taken.
• Anybody can bid from any place.
• Bidding continues throughout the whole bidding session. Beyond the fixed time, the last bid
will stop if time elapse is more than 3 minutes of the latest bid (Provision of auto extension).
• Fellow bidders remain unnoticed from each other.
Online Auction Technical Requirements

There is a great deal of functionality available in today’s online auction tools, so much that it
can be overwhelming for the Sourcing Professional. The Sourcing Team should make sure
that its e-Sourcing tool has some core, basic functionality. This core functionality helps
improve sourcing efficiency through increased speed, improved accuracy and consistency,
greater collaboration with stakeholders and suppliers, broader knowledge transfer and security.
Bid management controls
Sourcing Professionals need to have control during a live auction. Control helps them
manage supplier and system problems that may arise. Important bid management controls
include:
• pausing auctions
• resuming auctions
• canceling auctions
• erroneous bid removal
• proxy bidding
The presence of bid management controls affects speed, accuracy, consistency and security.
Configurable lot cascading and overtime

This functionality allows the Sourcing Team to structure the auction so that all interested
suppliers can participate. Suppliers can focus on one or more lots since the ending times are
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different and dependent on the conclusion of earlier lots. Overtime allows bidding to continue
beyond the scheduled lot closing time. Overtime enables all suppliers the opportunity to
respond to the most recent bid. With overtime, suppliers do not need to time their best bids to
beat the market. Sourcing Teams are secure knowing that they received the best bids.
The presence of configurable lot cascading and overtime affects speed, accuracy and
consistency.
Configurable bid views and reports
To improve ease of use and access to information for the Sourcing Team, it is important that
the user can see the bids as they come in and make adjustments to the graphical display when
necessary. The ability to flexibly rank suppliers by lots or bundles of lots helps the Sourcing
Team anticipate award scenarios. After an auction, it is important to be able to access bid
results for analysis and documentation either via integrated reports or spreadsheets.
The presence of configurable bid views and reports affects speed, accuracy,
consistency, collaboration and knowledge transfer.
Data import/export capability

To improve ease of use and access to information for the Sourcing Team, it is important that
information can be easily imported into or exported from the auction tool.
The presence of data import/export capabilities affects speed, accuracy, consistency and
security.
Integration points
Integration helps streamline the entire sourcing process. A user should be able to effortlessly,
with few key strokes, move between different sourcing tasks. Some key integration points
include:
• communication tools – such as an online communication forum for asking and answering
questions, email
• spreadsheets
• e-RFx – so a buyer does not need to create a separate, distinct project for an auction
• Optimization – so a buyer does not need to export auction data then import it into an
optimization engine for data analysis and scenario building
The presence of integration point affects speed, accuracy, consistency, knowledge transfer
and security.
Security and access controls

Security and access controls allow companies the ability to limit users to what they can see or
do within an e-Sourcing tool. The controls reinforce operational procedures depending on
security levels, organizational level or role level.
The presence of security and access controls affects speed, consistency and security.
Terms & Conditions of Spot e-Auction Scheme 2020

Objective:
Coal distribution through e-Auction has been introduced with a view to provide
access to coal for such buyers who are not able to source coal through the available institutional
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mechanism. In the long run it is expected that e-Auction may help increate as well as future
market of coal in the country.
The purpose of e-Auction is to provide equal opportunity to purchase coal through

single window service to all intending Buyers.
E - Auction has been introduced to facilitate across the country wide ranging
access to book coal on-line for all sections of coal Buyers enabling them to buy coal through a
simple, transparent and consumer friendly system of marketing and distribution of coal.
Terms & Conditions

With reference to para VI (4) of the ‘e-Auction Scheme 2007’ for Spot e-Auction
the detailed terms and conditions are given below :
1. Eligibility:
Any Indian Buyer (viz. individual, partnership firm, companies etc.) can
participate in e-Auction for procurement of coal.
2. Registration:
2.1 Before participation in the e-Auction, a prospective Buyer shall be required to get itself /
himself registered with the Service Provider appointed by the
CIL/CoalCompaniesforthepurpose,bysubmittinganapplicationintheprescribed
formatavailableontheWebsiteoftherespectiveServiceProviders.Theapplication
shallbemadealongwiththerequireddocumentssuchascopyofIncomeTaxreturn (latest), PAN Number, Sales
Tax / Vat Registration Certificate, SSI Registration, Trade License, if applicable, Passport size
photograph, etc. as prescribed by
theserviceprovider.Registrationcanbedoneeitheronline,oratanyofthefrontoffices of the service provider.
2.2 After the registration, all-prospective Buyers will have an auto

generated“UniqueUserID”&a“password”basedonwhichtheycanlogin.Details of the registration process
with the service provider will be available in their respective websites.
2.3 Theserviceprovidershallissue“PhotoIdentityCard”totheirregistered
biddersdulyauthenticatingtheidentity&signature,indicatinga“UniqueRegistration
Number”allottedtothem.The“Uniqueregistrationnumber”oftheregisteredbidders shall be communicated
to the Coal Companies by the service provider.
2.4 Only one registration will be done against one PAN number .However, based on more
than one independent valid sales tax registration, more than one registration against a PAN Number can
be considered. In such cases, the details of
validsalestaxregistrationwillbeindicatedineach‘PhotoIdentityCard’.
2.5 All Buyers having been registered with the service providers shall also have to furnish non-
interest bearing Earnest Money Deposit (EMD) at the rate of Rs.200/- per tone, with the Service Provider.
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This EMD shall not be specific for a particular Subsidiary Coal Company and shall be available with the
Service Provider for participation in the e-Auction across the Subsidiary Coal Companies of CIL, as long
as the required amount of EMD is available in the bidders a/c. with the Service Provider.
3. Notification:
3.1 Coal companies would draw program for conducting at least two e-Auctions per month
and notify the same, minimum 7(seven) days in advance, through display on the Company’s notice
board and putting the same on the Coal
Company’swebsitesforwidepublicity.TheprogramwillbeintimatedtotheService providers accordingly for
hoisting the same on their websites also.
3.2 There will be separate auction for dispatches by rail and road mode. The minimum
quantity for bidding would be 50 (fifty) tones for a source for Road mode, where as in case of Rail the
minimum quantity for bidding would be 1 (one) rake. The rake size shall be as per prevalent Railway
Rules. The quantity of coal in a rake shall be as indicated in the notice of E-auction.
3.3 The Buyer should satisfy itself / himself about the Rake fit stations /destinations from the
Railways before participation in e-Auction by rail, Non-
acceptanceoftheprogramme,evenaftertheoptionexercisedunderextantRailway rules, on account of rake-
fit stations / destinations being not accepted by the Railways shall be treated as a failure of the Buyer
leading to forfeiture of relatable EMD.
4.
5. Bidding Process
5.1 The registered Bidders shall be required to record their accept once after login, of the
Terms & Conditions of the e-Auction before participation in the actual Bidding Process.
5.2 Beforeparticipatingine-Auction,biddersaretosatisfythemselveswith the quality of coal

being offered from source.
5.3 Prospective Bidders are entitled to Bid for the quantity to the extent of amount of EMD
for which is available with the service provider in the bidder’s account at the time of bidding.
5.4 The Buyers while bidding shall quote their “Bid price” per tonne in Indian Rupee as base
coal price on FOR/FOB colliery basis, exclusive of other charges like statutory levies, surface
transportation charges, sizing/beneficiation charges, taxes, cess, royalty, SED, & any other charges as
will be applicable at the time of delivery. These charges as well as freight etc. shall be on the Buyers’
account.
5.5 The bidder has to bid for a price equal to or above the reserve priceto secure
consideration in the concerned-Auction.
5.6 The date, time and period of e-Auction as notified in advance including closing time on
portal of service provider shall be adhered to but for the event of
forcemajeure.However,theclosingtimeofe-Auctionwillbeautomaticallyextended up to last Bid time, plus
5 minutes, so that opportunity is given to other Bidders for making an improved Bid on that item.
5.7 The Bidder shall offer his Bid price (per tone) in the increment of Rs.10/- (Rupees ten)
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during the Normal e-Auction period. During the extended period of first two (2) hours, the Bidder shall
offer his Bid price in the increment of Rs.20/-. Beyond this extended period of two hours the bid price
increment would-be Rs. 50/- (Rs .Fifty )only.
5.8 While maintaining the secrecy of Bidder’s identity, the web site shall register and display
on screen the lowest successful Bid price at that point of time.
ThesystemwillnotallowaBiddertoBidinexcessofhisentitledquantityasperhis EMD. However once a
Bidder is out-bided by another (in part or full) the particular Bidder shall become eligible for making an
improv.
5.9 Following criteria would be adopted in deciding the successful bidders:-
(a) Precedence will be accorded to the highest bid price in the descending order (H1, H2, H3
and so on) as long as the offered quantity is available for allocation.
(b) If two or more buyers bid the same highest price, precedence for allotment will be
accorded to the buyer who has placed the bid for the higher quantity.
(c) In case two or more buyers bid the same price and the same quantity, precedence will be
given to the buyer who has accorded his bid first with reference to time.
BENEFITS, LIMITATIONS & PROCESS OF

E-AUCTION
• Benefits of E-Auctions
– Benefits to Sellers
• Increased revenues
• Optimal price setting
• Removal of expensive
intermediaries
• Better customer relationships
• Liquidation
• Lower transaction costs
• Lower administrative costs
– Benefits of E-Auctions to Buyers

• Opportunities to find unique items
and collectibles
• Lower prices
• Entertainment
• Anonymity
• Convenience
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– Benefits to E-Auctioneers
• Higher repeat purchases
• A stickier Web site
• Expansion of the auction business
• Limitations of E-Auctions
– Possibility of fraud
– Limited participation
– Security
– Auction software
– Long cycle time
– Monitoring time
– Equipment for buyers
– Order fulfillment costs
The E-Auction Process
Page | 28
E-Auction Methodology of CCL
1) Coal companies would draw program for at least two e-auctions per month and notify the
same minimum seven days in advance for hoisting in Coal Company’s website for wide
publicity. The program will be intimated to the service providers accordingly for hoisting the
same at their websites also.
2) The service providers would conduct the e-auctions as per the said program on the scheduled
date and time.
3) The bidder has to bid for a price equal to or above disclosed reserve price so as to secure
consideration in the concerned e-auction.
4) The buyers would bid for basic price and intended quantity only from the desired sources of
their choice during such e-auctions. Other charges, taxes & duties will be extra as prevailing
from time to time.
5) Following criteria would be adopted in deciding the successful bidders:
i) Preference will be given to the highest bid price in the descending order as
long as the offered quantity is available for allocation.
ii) If two or more parties bid the same highest price, preference for allotment
will be given to the party who has placed the bid for highest quantity.
iii) In case two or more parties bid the same price and the same quantity ,
preference will be given to the party who has placed the bid first with reference to time.
6) There will be a separate auction for dispatch by rail and road. In case of road , the minimum
quantity for bidding would be 50 tom whereas in case of rail , the minimum quantity for
bidding would be one full rake.
7) After the auction is completed, the successful bidders would be intimated through e-
mail/SMS by the service providers.
8) The successful bidders after having received such intimations will be required to submit coal
value with the concerned coal company within a period of 7 working days from the date of
intimation. Seven working days would be reckoned as applicable to the respective coal
company’s office.
9) EMD of such bidders would be adjusted at the time of depositing coal value if the bidders so
desire.
10) In case of road supplies, once the coal value is deposited, delivery orders will be issued by the
coal companies after encashment of their financial instruments whereas in case of rail
supplies, there shall be two options available. While submitting program, the bidder at his
option can deposit 100% BG on the prescribed format or else 100% amount through Demand
Draft. In case of BG, however, the 100% coal value will have to be deposited before
allotment of rakes.
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11) The validity period to complete the lifting of coal by road shall be 45 days from the date of
issue of sale/delivery order. No extension of time shall be allowed. The validity period in
case of rail, however, shall be guided by the prevailing railway rules.
12) In case the coal could not be made available to the successful bidder from the specific source
where he became successful, there will be an option to supply the same grade/size of coal
from the neighboring collieries, if available, at that highest bided price of the concerned
neighboring colliery. This is to be applicable only if the customer had agreed for the same
before participating in the bid.
DATA COLLECTION
There are two way to collect data:-
I. By the customer response
II. By the service provider response
I. Data collection Of Customers’ Response
Quantitative Analysis & Interpretations of Customers’

Responses
1) Quantity of coal you source through e-auction monthly-
The figures are in metric tonnes(MT). Interpretation
The responses were that 37% of the customers buy less than 5000 metric tones in amonth in
e-
auction and after that , we can see that 22% customers buy between 10,000 and 15,000 MT in
a month and even 18% also buy from 15000-20000 mt per month , so we can see that the
demand is quite high.
2) Is the above quantity required for own use or trading or both?

Page | 30
3) Preferable auction type-
Interpretation
The response is 62% of the consumers prefer forward e-auction who wish to have an assured
supply over a long period and 38% prefers spot e-auction.
4) Do e-auction is sufficient to fulfill your demand?
Page | 31
Interpretation
95% of the customers surveyed told that their demand of coal is not satisfied by e-auction , so
it can be understood how high the demand of coal is. On asking from where they source their
unfulfilled demand of coal , they told they buy it from other traders or sometimes other
companies.
5) Do you think more coal should be allocated for sale under e-auction system?
Interpretation
100% of the customers surveyed want more coal to be sold under e-auction , so it can be
understood the huge potential for e-auction.
6) If Yes, what should be the % of the total production to be sold under e-auction?
Interpretation
We can see that the maximum numbers of customers are saying that it should be between
20-25%. CIL should see this figure to understand how huge potential e-auction is having
though the price of coal under e-auction is more.
7) Do you think that CIL should provide its own service for e-auction?
Page | 32
Interpretation
Just 37% customers surveyed wanted that CIL should provide its own e-auction service. This
means that the customers believe that CIL do not have the necessary infrastructure and
technical set up to provide e-auction service on its own. This is a serious note to be looked
upon for a Navratna status company.
8) Rank Order Test of the 9 PARAMETERS of e-SQ and of some other parameters. (
The scale was of 10 points , 10 being Highest and 1 being Lowest). The customers were asked
to rate in terms of their satisfaction with these following parameters.
Parameters T Nu A Ra
o mbe v nk
t r Of e
a Res r
l pon a
dent g
P s e
o
i P
n o
t i
s n
t
s
Price of coal in e-auction 1 40 4 12
8 .
4 6
Terms & Conditions for 2 40 6 7
e-auction 6 .
5 6
2
5
Transparency of the e- 2 40 6 6
auction process 6 .
6 6
5
Registration fees of e- 3 40 8 1
auction 5 .
8 9
5
EMD amount 2 40 5 10
3 .
0 7
5
Success rate of your 2 40 6 9
bidding 4 .
6 1
5
Page | 33
Reliability 3 40 8 2
3 .
3 3
2
5
Security of the system 3 40 8 4
2 .
2 0
5
Privacy of the customer 3 40 8 3
bidding 3 .
2 3
0
Communication of the 2 40 7 5
service provider with you 8 .
8 2
0
User Friendliness 1 40 4 14
8 .
0 5
0
Information Quality 1 40 4 11
9 .
0 7
5
System Quality 1 40 4 13
8 .
2 5
5
Customization 1 40 3 15
2 .
8 2
0
Trust & Assurance 2 40 6 8
6 .
4 6
0
Interpretation
We have given ranking in the average points in descending order because higher the points
determines high level of satisfaction, so given higher rank.
We can see that the parameter in terms of ranking stands as follows
Parameters Rank
Registration fees of e-auction 1
Reliability 2
Privacy of the customer bidding 3
Security of the system 4
Communication of the service provider with you 5
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Transparency of the e-auction process 6
Terms & Conditions for e-auction 7
Trust & Assurance 8
Success rate of your bidding 9
EMD amount 10
Information Quality 11
Price of coal in e-auction 12
System Quality 13
User Friendliness 14
Customization 15
A detailed analysis and interpretation of these ranks of why some parameters have very low
satisfaction and why some have high level of satisfaction are given below in the qualitative
analysis.
II. Data collection of Service Provider’s Responses

The data which are collected from the survey have been analyzed by graphical representation
and the outcomes are interpreted clearly.
SERVICE PROVIDERS
1) The present system is offering only 10% of the total production for sale do you think
more amount of coal should be allocated for sale under this system?
100
80
60
40
20
0
Yes
No
Interpretation
Both the Service Provider responded positively to this question. So the response to the above
question is that 100% of the service providers saying that the demand for coal will increase
under e-marketing and much more amount of coal is needed to be allocated under this system
for sale.
2) If Yes, what should be the % of the total production to be sold under e-auction?
MSTC told they want it to be 30%.

Metal Junction told they want to be 25%. Interpretation
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Both the service providers want the % of coal to be sold under e-auction to be increased
drastically due to huge demand of coal.
3) Rank Order Test of the 9 PARAMETERS of e-SQ. ( The scale was of 10 points , 10
being Highest and 1 being Lowest)
Paramet Total Number Average Rank

ers Points Of Points
Respon
dents
Transpa 18 2 9 2
rency
Reliabil 19 2 9.5 1
ity
Security 18 2 9 2
/Privacy
Respons 17 2 8.5 3
iveness
User 17 2 8.5 3
Friendli
ness
Informa 16 2 8 4
tion
Quality
System 18 2 9 2
Quality
Customi 14 2 7 5
zation
Trust & 19 2 8.5 3
Assuran
ce
Interpretation
Here the respondents are just 2 as there are only 2 service providers. We can see that on a
scale of 10, the ratings are mostly given as 8 , 9 and even 10. Doing Rank Order Test, we see
that as per the Service providers’ perception of their service quality regarding those
parameters is quite high. In fact though there were 9 parameters, the ratings were equal for
many parameters, so we got only 5ranks.
So as per the service providers’ e-SQ’s rank are:

Rank 1- Reliability
Rank 2- Transparency, Security/Privacy, System Quality
Rank 3- Responsiveness, User friendliness, Trust and Assurance Rank 4- Information Quality
Rank 5- Customization
Out of the 9 parameters, only Information Quality and Customization has scored little low
ratings. This is due to because, service providers believe that CIL’s chain of communication
for some important matters is not very efficient , so they cannot provide efficient and correct
information to the customers. To talk about Customization , they do not provide much of that.
Page | 36
DATA ANALYSIS:-
I. Analysis & Interpretations of Customers’ Responses
The analysis is done on the basis of rank.
1) Registration fees of e-auction: Rank 1 The Registration fee is :
(i) Rs.1000/- for 03 months registration.
(ii) Rs.3000/- for 01 year registration.
(iii) Rs.10000/- one time.
In addition Service Tax @10% and Educational CESS @3% shall be payable on the
registration fee.
Almost all the customers were pretty happy with the registration fees and had not much
dissatisfaction with it and thus it got highest rating of customer satisfaction.
2) Reliability: Rank 2
The word reliability comes with credibility too. Both these service providers are big in their e-
commerce operation and both have a credible background. MSTC is a government
undertaking and Metal Junction is from the house of TATA. So the factor of reliability also
scored high in customer satisfaction.
3) Privacy of the customer bidding: Rank 3

This parameter also scored very high in customer satisfaction because privacy of the customer
bidding is maintained at its best and no person comes to know the profile of the customer
who is bidding from the other side. So the privacy of the bidder is maintained at very high
level
4) Security of the system: Rank 4

This parameter also scored very high as the customers are very satisfied with the security of
the system as through this system , high magnitude of financial transactions take place.
5) Communication of the service provider with you: Rank 5
From this parameter, customers’ little dissatisfaction started. They complained that the service
provider do not communicate with them frequently when it is needed. Neither have they ever
met physically. Moreover when the service providers need money, they communicate lot but
when it comes to communicating some changes or other revisions, communication is very bad.
Moreover the complaint that came from customers was that there was no consistency in their
communication. Sometime frequent SMS and mails come but sometimes it seems there is no
relation between the service provider and the customers.
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6) Transparency of the e-auction process: Rank 6
Actually the privacy of the bidder is costing the transparency of the e-auction process because
the customers feel that since they do not know who are the other customers bidding , their
own mental process of bidding is getting disturbed because they feel that there are lot of
traders who are bidding at a very high price and eliminating many customers whose budget
has been crossed by the new bided price so that the customers cannot buy coal from the coal
companies and instead buy from those traders. So the customers feel that though privacy
should be maintained but at least they must know something about the person bidding.
7) Terms and Conditions for e-auction: Rank 7
Customers were quite dissatisfied with the terms and conditions of the e-auction process.
Mainly because they feel they are simply harassed by extreme documentation which is
happening twice creating more problems for the customers. They opined that already they
submit more than enough documentation to CIL, then only after lot of verification, they are
given username and password to register in the e-auction. But it is their complaint that after
they deposit EMD and after they are successful in their bidding and they can get coal from
the coal companies , the coal companies are again demanding lot of documents in order to
facilitate their delivery of the coal. Those documents demanded are Memorandum & Articles.
8) Trust and Assurance: Rank 8
Though this is wide term , but here customers talked about their mistrust in the transparency
and fairness of the bidding process which is not allowing them to buy coal or buy coal at a
much higher price. CIL being a PSU do not provide any assurance to those small customers
who are being cheated at the hands of fake bidders and traders who are increasing the bidding
price.
9) Success Rate of your bidding: The response from the customers was that, the
average success rate of their bidding is just 40-50%. This is because, the price at which mostly
bidding takes place
goes out of the budget of most of the customers and sometimes even when they bid, the server
gets jammed and all the process get hindered.
10) EMD amount : Rank 10

The revised EMD amount is Rs 500 per tonne for E grade coal and Rs 400 per tonne for F
grade coal. Most of the cuatomers were dissatisfied with it as they want EMD to be
somewhere between Rs200-300 per tonne.
Page | 38
11) Information Quality: Rank 11
This refers to the information hoisted in the system. The customers are deeply dissatisfied
with this parameter as they complained that most of the new revised terms and conditions of
revised financial aspects are never communicated to the customers and even never uploaded in
the service providers’ websites. Moreover if any new person want to know about the entire
process, their website does not have good navigation to quality information which will help
new customers.
12) Price of Coal in e-auction: Rank 12

Customers are deeply dissatisfied with the price of coal in e-auction because already the
bidding starts at 130% of the notified price and then due to traders high bidding , the bidding
price mostly on an average goes to 160% of the notified price. Sometimes it even goes to
190% or even more than 200% of the notified price.
13) System Quality : Rank 13

Customers were very dissatisfied with the system quality because since this is an e-commerce
system and mostly when an e-auction takes place , the quality of the system must be very
efficient. But most of the customers told that the system quality of specifically Metal Junction
is very poor as after successful bidding, mostly the server of Metal Junction gets hanged or
jammed destroying the entire bidding process of the successful bidder.
14) User Friendliness: Most customers were of the opinion that the system is extremely
non user friendly and only a highly computer literate person can operate this system which
mostly is deficient in most of the customers participating in e-auction so they have to hire
another person to operate or bid on their behalf which increases their cost further.
15) Customization : All customers are treated equally and there is no customization for
separate customers.
II Analysis Of the Service Providers’ Response

Qualitative Analysis
This analysis is done based on the survey data and response from MSTC India and Metal
Junction.
Sales through e-marketing

• The method used by both for coal auctioning is yankee auction or price quantity method.
• Both uses forward auction for sale of goods.
Page | 39
• Metal junction has its own business unit coal junction which conducts online auctions for the
sale of coal and coal products from clients like CIL.
• MSTC India is following B2B and B2C modes.
• MSTC has a fixed a sales target of Rs 4780 crore through e-auction for the present year and
Metal Junction fixes its target as per CIL’s policy.
• Reserve prices for the auctions are fixed by CIL. Auctions are started at these reserve prices
, which normally closes at higher prices than the reserve prices.
Customer Growth
• For MSTC prioritization of customers is done based on volume of business, length of
relationship, future scope and prospects.
• Metal junction has 10,000 registered customers while MSTC has about 6000 customers.
• The growth trend of coal auctions of Metal Junction in terms of volume is at CAGR of 7.58
% approximately and that of MSTC is 8-10%.
Product Line
• MSTC is auctioning manganese ore , ferro manganese, iron ore, raw lignite, ferrous scrap, non
ferrous scrap, vehicles, machinery, items etc. beside coal.
• Metal Junction is also auctioning steel and ferrous and non ferrous scrap along with coal.
Pricing
• MSTC does not play any role in fixing the floor price of the commodities.
• Metal Junction provides CIL with MIS regarding e-auction prices, which helps CIL in fixing
the floor price.
• For Metal Junction the role played by it in fixing prices varies according to product
groups/business units.
• The cost components for conducting e-auction include hardware and software development
and maintenance cost and human resource cost as per MSTC.
Customer Satisfaction
• Both MSTC and Metal Junction give stress on transparent, smooth, prompt, hassle free
services to their clients.
• Metal Junction has introduces an unique service called Coal Movement Services, which
intends to take care of the rail logistics requirements of the customers.
Technical Issues
Page | 40
• Metal junction monitors the e-auction software regularly and upgrades when required.
• MSTC upgrades its e-auction software as and when it is necessary to accommodate specific
requirements of the clients.
• The MSTC e-auction server consumes about 1300 watt of power maximum.
• MSTC has a scalability feature which allows them to upgrade the capacity of the server.
Employees
• The technical skills according to MSTC that employees should possess for handling the e-
auction site includes, knowledge of web based programming, ability to understand the
business logic and write codes for the same and also the package should be user friendly.
• For Metal Junction the technical skill varies across different departments, and levels, which
constitute the entire team.
• Both Metal Junction and MSTC stresses upon training process of employees handling e-
auctioning on a regular basis so that there is regular update of technological advancements in
the allied fields.
E-Auction security
• The security aspect of both MSTC and Metal Junction has been taken care of by the way of
ISO 27001:2005 certification.
• As per MSTC, e-auction system should be secured from hazards originating fron the internet
through preventive firewalls and other software. The hardware should be protected from
physical intrusion by way of access control and Data Centre.
• Metal Junction has established and is maintaining an Information Security Management

System.
• Metal Junction is also CMMI Maturity level 3 certified.
• Both MSTC and Metal Junction have a DMS(Disaster Management System) in Delhi and
Mumbai respectively to get back all the information if the system gets affected badly and the
all the data gets lost.
• Both have introduced Digital Signature as instructed by CIL.

Content Analysis Inference
Auctioning is done mainly by Yarkee Auction Method. For both MSTC and Metal Junction
growth in customer registrations has been considerably high of about 8-10%. Both are
auctioning variety of products ranging from coal and coal products to steel, ferrous and non
ferrous scraps. Both MSTC and Metal Junction are not directly involved in setting floor prices
for the products that are to be auctioned. Customer satisfaction has been given very high
importance by both the companies and gives stress on smooth, transparent, prompt and hassle
Page | 41
free services to their clients. Where capacity of e-auctioning server is concerned, both the
companies upgrades the capacity of the server. Both Metal Junction and MSTC has given
stress upon training process of employees handling e- auctioning on a regular basis so that
there is regular update of technological advancements in the allied fields. The security aspects
that an e-auctioning server should have, has been taken care of with ISO 27001:2005
certification.
OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
1. To study the e-auction process.
2. To find out whether e-auction is able to fulfill the demands of the customers participating in
e-auction.
3. To find out the level of customer satisfaction participating in e-auction of COAL INDIA
LTD.
4. To evaluate the quality of the services of the service providers of the e-auction of CIL.
5. To find out the deviations between customer expectations and the services rendered.
6. To uncork the bottlenecks in the total system and provide recommendations to the service
providers and to CIL to het a high level of customer satisfaction.
MAIN FINDINGS
1) E – Auctioning is a right step for both CIL which increased their profit considerably and also
for the small customers who cannot buy coal through normal procedure.
2) An easy access to place one’s demand of coal
3) E – Auctioning is a legitimate channel for supply of coal to non –consumer
4) Registered traders also get opportunity in the platform
5) More awareness, training and education is needed to be provided to the consumers for
efficiency of transactions and more efficient participation.
6) It has high prospect in fulfilling the demand of consumers in future and will help to shorten
the demand-supply gap.
7) It has helped to eliminate the middle men and illegal transactions benefiting the buyers and
the sellers.
8) Most of the customers are pretty satisfied with most of the aspects of this system.
9) The service providers are specialized and unbiased.
10) The e-auction software should be able to eliminate jamming and blockade to increase
customer satisfaction level.
Page | 42
SUGGESSION
1) More quantity is needed to be allocated for sale under e-auction to satisfy customers’ needs
and so they do not need to resort to other source for their unfulfilled demand.
2) More awareness, training and education of e-auction is required for the consumers.
3) Auction software should be improved and upgraded to fight with system jamming and
blockade.
4) It needs to be cost effective on both the buyers and consumers end. EMD if possible should be
lowered.
5) Traders must submit utilization statement.
6) The service provider must make some representative for the customers and must meet them
for physical interaction and training to be more efficient on the bidding system
7) The service provider if introduces some new technological changes must ensure to train the
customers ( for e.g. : recently introduced digital signature is causing lot of tensions in the
entire customers’ segment.
8) CIL should evaluate the e-auction process frequently, the quality of service rendered, the
customer satisfactions and excreta.
9) The double documentation should be avoided. If once the customers have been verified and
granted username and password, I do not think there is a need for the same documents to
submit again at the concerned coal companies. CIL should send those documents so that those
coal companies do not need those to be submitted by the customers again.
10) When such a big system is running electronically, documents to be filed electronically to save
time and harassment.
11) Metal Junction must upgrade its system quality so as to avoid getting hanged and jammed in
critical time.
12) The service providers need to have an efficient & frequent communication process with the
customers through SMS, email.
13) The service providers must look for an efficient and prompt redress of the customers’
complaints.
14) The service providers must upload important information on their website and must pave for
an easy navigation to lot of information for beginners.
15) The system should be made more customer friendly rather than customer compulsion.
16) In this modern world of customization, the service providers must maintain the database of
their customers, must try to create customer profiling and must try to package customized
service for separate profiles.
17) CIL should see to the extreme increase in the price in the bidding which is not allowing many
customers to buy coal under e-auction. CIL must ensure social vision as it is a PSU as well as
profitability.
Page | 43
CONCLUSION
Through this project we came to know more about coal, the marketing strategy of coal of Central
Coalfields Limited and Coal India. We studied about the types of coal,transportation of coal,e-auction,of
Central Coalfields Limited and Coal India. We have studied about types of coal, how the price is
determined, where it is present, what is its marketing strategy, consumers of CCL and how the coal is
dispatched.
Though the e-auction helps the CCL and CIL to perform its action smoothly but it is not performing well
as required in some fields, especially the dispatch of coal through Roadmode increases the cost of coal.
There are also several coal mining projects which are facing delays. There are also lacks of performance in
other marketing mix strategy.
Though there are some drawbacks, CCL is overcoming of these and performing well. CCL has a
great contribution in nation’s GDP so it must continue to perform better
BIBILOGRAPHY
websites
www.wikipedia.com www.coalinia,in www.mstcindia.co.in www.metaljunction.com
Chaffey, D. (n.d.). http://davechaffey.com/internet-marketing/C4-Strategy/Internet-strategy-
process. Retrieved July 25th, 2010, from davechaffey.com: http://davechaffey.com/internet-
marketing/C4-Strategy/Internet-strategy-process
MAGAZINE & Other Articles

Coal insights
A.PARASURAMAN. (2020). Defining, Assessing, and Measuring Service Quality: A
Conceptual Overview. Ranchi University.
Book name
Philip kotler,
Page | 44
QUESTIONNAIRE
(Questionnaire for Service Providers of e-Auction of Coal)
Please Note: The information asked in this questionnaire is not intended to
harm your company in any way or to get into your confidentiality. This is
purely done for
Academic purpose. This project report will only be submitted to CIL and to my
college and nowhere else.
General Information
Name of the company:
Name of the person interviewed (optional):
Designation:
Total Number of customers registered at present in your entire e-commerce system: Number of
customers registered at present for buying coal under e-auction:
The annual growth % of the customers getting registered for e-auction:
1) Kindly name the companies other than CIL for which you usually conduct e-auction and
their products:
2) What encouraged your company to become e- Service Provider for Coal?
3) As the present system is offering only 10% of the total production for sale under e-auction,
Do you think more coal should be allocated for sale under this system?
Yes/No
4) If yes, what should be the % of the total production to be sold under e-auction?
5) Do you provide any MIS to CIL which help them to fix the floor price of coal? Yes/No
6) What is the chain of communication between you, CIL and the subsidiary coal companies?
7) Has CIL ever done assessment of your service quality? Yes/No

Reliability
8) What type of measures is taken so that the site does not crash at any time?
9) What type of measures is taken so that the accuracy and transparency of the bidding
process is maintained at its best?
Security/Privacy
10) What are the risks involved in e-auction?
11) What type of special security and safety measures do you take to operate this
system as this system encompasses business comprising huge financial wealth?
12) What type of measures do you take to maintain the privacy of the bidders?
Responsiveness
13) Have you ever personally interacted with the customers registered in your system? Yes No
14) Do your customers have any grievances against your system? Yes/No
15) If yes, kindly specify those grievances.
Page | 45
16) How do you handle those grievances against your company?
17) Information Quality
18) How frequently do you update the details of the customers registered?
19) How frequently do you upgrade your website?

20) Do you communicate with the customers informing them of revisions made by the CIL
regarding e-auction? Yes/No
21) If yes, how do you do it?
• E-mail to every customers
• SMS to the every customers
• Upload in your website as a highlight
• Other methods( please specify)
System Quality
22) From the inception of e-auction till today, what improvements have you brought in
this system to increase customer confidence?
23) What type of technical skills your employees possess for handling the e-auction site?
24) What kind of training is imparted to the employees handling e-auction?
Customization
25) Do you provide customization services based on the profile of each customer? Yes /No
26) If yes, what are the services you customize and how do you customize them?
Commitment
27) Do you think the customers registered to you are loyal to you? Yes /No
28) If yes, how have you measured their loyalty?
29) Rate your own service quality on a scale of 10
(1 being lowest – 10 being highest)
Dimensions Ratings
Transparency of e-auction process
Reliability of your system
Security / Privacy maintained by your system
Responsiveness
User friendly
Information Quality
System Quality
Customization
Trust and Assurance provided
Sumeet Das
Post Graduate Diploma in Management (1st Year) Institute for Technology and
Management, Navi Mumbai
Page | 46
Thank You for your co-operation in this research
(Questionnaire for Customers/Traders of e-Auction of Coal)
1) Quantity of coal sourced through e-auction monthly:
2) Is the above quantity required for own use or trading?
(a) Own use (b) Trading (c) both
3) Quantity of coal required/ traded monthly:
4) If e-auction is insufficient to fulfill your demand, from where do you source your
unfulfilled demand of coal?
5) Which service provider are you registered with?
6) Kindly state the preferable auction type and reason therefore-
(a) forward e-auction (b) spot e-auction
7) As the present system is offering only 10% of the total production for sale under e-auction,
Do you think more coal should be allocated for sale under this system?
Yes /No
8) If yes, what should be the increased % of the total production to be sold under e-auction?
9) Do you think that CIL should provide its own service for e-auction? Yes /No
10) Rate the following parameters of e-auction with regards to your satisfaction on a scale of
10
(1 being lowest and 10 being highest)
Parameters Ratings
Price of coal in e-auction

Terms and Conditions for e-auction laid down by CIL
Transparency of e-auction process
Registration fees of the e-auction
EMD amount
Success Rate of your bidding
Reliability of the system
Security of the system
Privacy of the customer bidding
Communication of the service provider with you
User friendliness of the system
Information Quality of the system
System Quality of the system
Customized services provided to you by the service e provider
Trust and assurance provided
11) Kindly state the reasons if any parameter’s rating is less than 7.
12) Do you have any suggestions to improve the e-auction system?
Page | 47
Thank You for your co-operation in this research
Page | 48

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A PROJECT REPORT

FOR THE PARTIAL FULLFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF: SUMITTED BY:

Department of business management

Gossner college Ranchi

Secondly, I would like to thanks my friends , families ,

Our best wishes for his future prospective.

MANOJ KUMAR Mr.Parul Bansal

After complete decontrol of coal distribution from 1.1.2004 many traders/consumers

E-marketing: The Strategic Planning-

1. Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL)

▪ Mahanadi Coalfields Limited has four (4) subsidiaries which are

▪ MJSJ Coal Limited

▪ SECL has two subsidiaries

▪ M/s Chhattisgarh East Railway Ltd (CERL)

▪ CCL has one subsidiary

▪ Jharkhand Central Railway Ltd

Central Coalfields Limited (CCL) is a subsidiary of Coal India Limited

Type : Public sector undertaking Government-owned

Founded: 1November, 1975

In 1956 National Coal Development Corporation (NCDC) formed to explore

Bharat Coking Coal Limited(BCCL), Central Coalfields Limited(CCL), Western

Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) and South Eastern Coalfields Limited

Number of Mines 62 Operative Mines (22 Underground & 40 Opencast

• These have coking properties.

Steel I Ash > 15%

2) Non Coking Coal

Non- Coking Coal - These are coals without coking properties.

Grade of NON-COKING COAL

• First stage of transformation.

• Soft coal; most widely available and used coal.

• Best quality; hard coal.

E-AUCTION IN COAL INDIA

Examples for the different types of e-auction

• B2B: Product exchange and wholesale quotation

Fig.1 This diagram shows the process of a forward auction

Features of normal bidding process

Features of electronic bidding process

Online Auction Technical Requirements

Bid management controls

Configurable lot cascading and overtime

Data import/export capability

Security and access controls

Terms & Conditions of Spot e-Auction Scheme 2020

The purpose of e-Auction is to provide equal opportunity to purchase coal through

Terms & Conditions

2.2 After the registration, all-prospective Buyers will have an auto

5.2 Beforeparticipatingine-Auction,biddersaretosatisfythemselveswith the quality of coal

5.9 Following criteria would be adopted in deciding the successful bidders:-

BENEFITS, LIMITATIONS & PROCESS OF

– Benefits of E-Auctions to Buyers

The E-Auction Process

I. Data collection Of Customers’ Response

Quantitative Analysis & Interpretations of Customers’

1) Quantity of coal you source through e-auction monthly-

The figures are in metric tonnes(MT). Interpretation

2) Is the above quantity required for own use or trading or both?

4) Do e-auction is sufficient to fulfill your demand?

II. Data collection of Service Provider’s Responses

MSTC told they want it to be 30%.

Paramet Total Number Average Rank

So as per the service providers’ e-SQ’s rank are:

3) Privacy of the customer bidding: Rank 3