Coal India Ltd
COALINDIA
2
exclusion reasons
2 themes
This page is part of our public exclusion list — a transparency tool that shows which companies we screen out and why. It is not investment advice, and it is not an accusation. But it is subject to change as our understanding of the facts evolves.
Coal India Limited, a state-owned enterprise that accounts for over 80% of India's domestic coal production, operates extensive open-cast and underground mines that have caused documented, widespread environmental destruction. The company's operations are linked to deforestation, toxic contamination of soil and water, and permanent landscape degradation in mining regions.
A 2019 report by India's Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) identified systemic failures in how Coal India manages environmental safety and mitigates the impact of its mining activities. The National Green Tribunal has found subsidiary South Eastern Coalfields guilty of causing environmental damage. Independent studies of soil near Coal India's mining regions confirm the accumulation of toxic elements like chromium, a primary route for heavy metal contamination. Further notices have been issued by state pollution regulators, such as in Odisha in 2018, to mines with a combined annual capacity of 20 million tonnes.
The environmental harm is not incidental but intrinsic to the scale of operation. Scientific reviews describe the exposure of toxic substances from mined rock masses, leading to polluted soil-water systems and acid drainage. This pattern of ecological damage, validated by national audit and judicial bodies, demonstrates a failure to control the fundamental environmental consequences of its core business.
Coal India Limited is the world's largest government-owned coal producer, mining over 770 million tonnes of coal in the 2023-24 financial year. The company operates 352 mines across eight Indian states, accounting for over 80% of India's domestic coal production. Its core business is the mining, processing, and sale of thermal coal, which constitutes its primary revenue source.
The company's operations have been linked to significant community and environmental harm. A 2023 investigation by Amnesty International documented that Coal India's rapid expansion has bulldozed human rights, violating the rights of Adivasi and other forest-dwelling communities to consultation and consent regarding land acquisition and environmental impacts. The company has also faced repeated regulatory scrutiny. In 2012, the Competition Commission of India (CCI) levied a penalty against Coal India for unfair trade practices and abuse of dominance. While a 2025 CCI order dismissed a specific allegation concerning its e-auction scheme, the company's market position remains dominant. Furthermore, Coal India was implicated in the "Coalgate" scandal, a major political controversy concerning the Indian government's allocation of coal mining rights.
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Companies appear on our exclusion list based on our investment judgment — not because they've done anything illegal. This is a difference of values and opinion, not an accusation of wrongdoing. Exclusion does not constitute a recommendation against investing in any company, and absence from the list does not constitute a recommendation to invest.
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