South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL), a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India Limited, has filed its Draft Red Herring Prospectus (DRHP) with the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for an initial public offering (IPO). The proposed IPO will be an offer for sale (OFS) of up to 66.81 crore equity shares by promoter Coal India Limited.

The equity shares will have a face value of Rs 2 each. Since the issue is entirely an OFS, SECL will not receive any proceeds from the offering; the proceeds will accrue to Coal India Limited, the selling shareholder.

The IPO will be conducted through the book-building process. Under the proposed allocation structure, not more than 50% of the net offer will be reserved for qualified institutional buyers (QIBs), while not less than 15% and 35% will be allocated to non-institutional investors (NIIs) and retail individual investors, respectively.

Incorporated in 1985, South Eastern Coalfields is among India's largest coal producers. The company produced 176.29 million tonnes of coal in FY26, accounting for 16.94% of the country's total coal production, according to the CRISIL report.

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Headquartered in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, SECL is a wholly owned subsidiary of Coal India and holds Miniratna Category-I status, which was conferred on it on March 15, 2007. The company completed 40 years of coal mining operations in 2025.

SECL is the second-largest coal-producing subsidiary of Coal India, contributing 22.95% to the parent company's total coal production in FY26. Its coal output increased 5.25% to 176.29 million tonnes in FY26 from 167.49 million tonnes in FY25, registering the highest production growth among Coal India's subsidiaries during the period, according to CRISIL.

As of April 1, 2026, SECL had total geological coal resources of approximately 47.55 billion tonnes, accounting for around 11.50% of India's total coal geological resources. Of this, approximately 10.93 billion tonnes had been projectised, according to the DMT and CRISIL reports.

Its audited coal reserves stood at 4.61 billion tonnes as of the same date. Based on its FY26 production of 176.29 million tonnes, these reserves are estimated to be sufficient to sustain operations for approximately 26 years.

The company's Gevra and Kusmunda opencast mines, located in the Korba coalfield of Chhattisgarh, are among the world's largest coal mines. In FY26, Gevra and Kusmunda were ranked the second and fourth-largest coal mines globally by production capacity, respectively. Gevra was also recognised as Asia's largest and the world's second-largest coal mining operation by production, according to CRISIL.

The strategic location of its coalfields across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh, along with its substantial resource base, enables SECL to supply non-coking coal to customers across northern, western and central India.

As of September 30, 2026, the company operated 53 producing mines, comprising 19 opencast and 34 underground mines, across 13 operating areas in the Korba, Mand-Raigarh and Central India coalfields.

For the six months ended September 30, 2026, opencast mines contributed 91.76% of SECL's total coal production. The corresponding contribution was 92.69% in the six months ended September 30, 2025, and 93.64%, 92.91% and 93.61% in FY26, FY25 and FY24, respectively.

The company is also increasing the use of mechanised mining techniques. Coal production through continuous miners rose 38.65% to 5.13 million tonnes in the six months ended September 30, 2026, from 3.70 million tonnes in the corresponding period last year.

SECL holds approximately 59,022.44 hectares, or 590.22 square kilometres, of land, including acquired and leased land across Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh and West Bengal.

Its mining rights extend over approximately 126,529.81 hectares. These include rights acquired under the Coal Bearing Areas (Acquisition and Development) Act, 1957, which are perpetual in nature, and 39 mining leases granted under the Mineral Concession Rules, 1960. The remaining land holdings are primarily used for residential settlements and associated infrastructure.

The company has an extensive coal evacuation network comprising rail connectivity through the South East Central Railway zone of Indian Railways, dedicated Merry-Go-Round (MGR) systems and belt conveyors connecting mines to pithead power stations. Rail corridors being developed through its subsidiaries are also expected to support coal transportation.

Road transportation is another important component of its evacuation infrastructure. In FY26, road dispatch accounted for 66.65 million tonnes, representing 37.31% of the company's total coal dispatch.

SECL has also undertaken various measures to reduce its environmental footprint as part of its sustainability and environmental stewardship initiatives.

SECL reported improved financial performance during the six months ended September 30, 2026. Revenue from operations increased to Rs 16,593.7 crore from Rs 15,090.2 crore in the corresponding period last year. Net profit rose to Rs 2,174.3 crore from Rs 1,140.9 crore. For FY26, the company's revenue from operations stood at Rs 32,956.5 crore, compared with Rs 29,998.3 crore in FY25. Net profit increased to Rs 4,754.5 crore in FY26 from Rs 4,540.4 crore in the previous fiscal.

The company's equity shares are proposed to be listed on both the BSE and NSE.

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