Shares of Coal India Ltd (CIL) rose by up to 3% in early trade on Wednesday after the state-owned company said that its board has granted in-principle approval to initiate the initial public offering (IPO) process for two of its subsidiaries—Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) and South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL).

Buoyed by the development, the PSU stock rose by as much as 3% to ₹412.40 on the BSE, extending Coal India’s buying momentum to a sixth straight session and taking cumulative gains to nearly 8%.

The sustained rally has pushed the blue-chip stock close to its 52-week high of ₹417.25, recorded on May 20, 2025. The stock has also rebounded about 18% from its 52-week low of ₹349.20, hit on February 17, 2025.

At the day’s high level, Coal India shares are up 5% so far in calendar year 2025, while it has risen 3.5% over the past six months and 9% in the past one month.

In a post-market release on December 23, CIL informed the exchanges that the ministry of coal, through an office memorandum dated December 16, 2025, had urged Coal India to take concrete steps towards listing the two subsidiaries in FY27. Acting on this advisory, Coal India’s board approved the proposal through a circular resolution.

“Ministry of Coal, vide its Office Memorandum I/37811/2025 dated 16.12.2025 had advised CIL to take concrete steps to ensure further listing of subsidiaries namely MCL and SECL in the upcoming financial year. Accordingly, CIL Board through circular resolution has accorded in-principle approval for listing of South Eastern Coalfields Limited (SECL),” the release said.

The company said the decision will now be communicated to the coal ministry for onward submission to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).

The proposed in-principle listing of MCL and SECL are subject to completion of various regulatory approvals, the release noted.

Here’s all you need to know about MCL and SECL

SECL, India’s largest coal-producing company, is a wholly owned subsidiary of CIL. A “Miniratna” PSU, SECL operates coal mines across Chhattisgarh and Madhya Pradesh.

SECL has 73 approved major coal projects with an aggregate ultimate capacity of 30.28 crore tonnes per annum and a sanctioned capital outlay of ₹44,571 crore. Of these, 38 projects have been completed, 30 are under implementation, while five underground blocks are existing mines. The company reported coal production of 16.75 crore tonnes in FY25.

For FY25, SECL posted total revenue of ₹35,871 crore, accounting for about 25% of Coal India’s consolidated revenue from operations of ₹1,43,368.92 crore. The subsidiary reported a profit after tax (PAT) of ₹4,648 crore, contributing meaningfully to CIL’s consolidated PAT of ₹35,302.10 crore. SECL’s net worth stood at ₹16,870 crore.

MCL, carved out of SECL on April 3, 1992, is headquartered in Sambalpur, Odisha. The Miniratna PSU has emerged as a key pillar of Coal India’s production and profitability.

In FY25, MCL was the largest contributor to Coal India’s output and financial performance. Its revenue from operations stood at ₹31,076.88 crore, while net profit (PAT) rose to ₹10,176.35 crore—accounting for nearly 28.8% of Coal India’s consolidated PAT of ₹35,302.10 crore. The subsidiary achieved record coal production of 225.2 million tonnes, representing almost 29% of Coal India’s total output of 781.10 million tonnes during the year.

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