State-owned Coal India Limited (CIL) is among the largest producers of coal in the world. CIL is operated and owned by the Ministry of Coal under the Government of India. Coal India Limited (CIL) operated through its seven coal-producing subsidiaries. The story of this state-owned enterprise can be traced back to 1971. On 16th October, 1971, the Indian government nationalised 226 coking coal mines in the private sector except the captive mines of Indian Iron & Steel Company (IISCO), Tata Iron and Steel Company Limited (TISCO) and Damodar Valley Corporation (DVC). In the following year, Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) was formed by the government to take over the management of these mines. 1973 was the year when the Central Government took control of 711 non-coking coal mines and placed them under the management of the newly formed Coal Mines Authority Limited (CMAL). The Indian government in 1975 established a new holding company to manage both BCCL and Coal Mines Authority Limited. This holding company came o be known as Coal India Limited (CIL). The newly formed CIL initially only had 5 subsidiaries. These were Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL), Eastern Coalfields Limited (ECL), Central Coalfields Limited (CCL), Western Coalfields Limited (WCL) and Central Mine Planning & Design Institute Limited (CMPDIL). During the early 1980s, CIL constructed five new washeries. These were located in Moonidih, Ramgarh, Mohuda, Barora and Kedla respectively. In 1985, CIL added two more subsidiaries, Northern Coalfields Limited (NCL) and South-Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL). These two subsidiaries were formed to manage certain mines managed by WCL and CCL. In 1992, another subsidiary Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) was set up by CIL  to manage mines in Talcher and IB Valley in the state of Orissa. In 2010, the government of India launched the Initial Public Offer (IPO) of CIL. 2015 was the year when Government of India sold a further 10 per cent stake in CIL.  In FY2019-20, CIL produced 602.138 Million Tonnes (MTs) of coal. As of March 2020, CIL was one of the largest corporate employers with a manpower of 2, 72, 445 employees. 

Products and services

Coal India Limited (CIL) functions through its seven subsidiaries. The company operates 84 mining areas that are spread over eight states of the country. As of March 2020, CIL operated 352 mines. Out of these 352, 158 are underground mines, 174 are opencast mines and 20 are mixed mines. CIL produces different grades of non-coking coal. This coal is primarily used in thermal power plants, cement plants and other industries as a fuel source. CIL also produces high-quality coking coal. This coking coal is used in the production of steel and metallurgical industries. CIL also manages and operates 12 coal washeries across India. The company also manages other establishments like workshops and hospitals among others. The state-owned enterprise has 26 training institutes and 84 vocational training centres across India. 

Listing 

Shares of Coal India Limited (CIL) are listed on BSE, NSE and MCX Stock Exchange. The company is a part of multiple indices like Nifty 50, Nifty 500, S&P BSE Sensex 50 etc.