India, Sept. 17 -- The Coal Ministry will launch the 16th round of commercial coal mine auctions on Thursday, with an aim to generate more employment and attract new investments into the sector.

The latest round will offer a fresh set of fully explored and partially explored coal blocks, the ministry said in a statement on Wednesday.

Commercial coal mining was launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2020.

"The 16th round is expected to carry this progress forward by bringing additional coal blocks into production, generating further employment and attracting new investment into the sector," the statement said.

Over the past six years, across fifteen completed rounds, 147 coal mines have been successfully auctioned, bringing 44 new...