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• First your comments on what the Government of India is proposing in order to meet their fiscal deficit target. We understand that a Cabinet note has been circulated that the Government of India wants Coal India, the company, to buy back the Government of India's stake. Your comments on that? I will first say that I have not received any such instruction from the government so far. I have also come to know about this only through the media and if Coal India has to buy back, that would mean that certain shares would be bought with the surplus money of Coal India and the total number of shares that Coal India is invested with will reduce. I can understand with buyback only this month. Currently the surplus money that we have are part in banks and we get an annual income of around Rs4000 crore of which goes into our profit loss account and again it is brought back into the shareholders money. I would like to invest this amount in a venture which would enable me to get an income level of the same that I am getting currently or even higher, but if there is as directive from the government and since the government is the major shareholder in this company, definitely we will have to go by that. But as far as things stand today, Coal India is not aware of any buyback proposal that you are talking of.
• But will you be comfortable to do a buyback or you had other plans of deploying the excess cash that you have on your books?
• There is no question of my comfort or discomfort. I am working for the shareholders and if the shareholders wish to get this money that way, where is the question of comfort or discomfort.
• We also understand that the Government of India is keen that Coal India, the cash number you mentioned 60,000 crore, they use part of that kitty to buy stake or shares in other government companies namely SAIL and NTPC. Have you got any communication on this as well?
• See as I have told you, I am getting certain amount of annual income from this money. If I invest it in some other equity, the equity share price might go up, might go down and the annual income that the company would get from that investment, which will be at a much higher price than the book price of the share, would be a miniscule amount. Even if somebody you understand it very well if share is bought at say Rs.200 for a value of Rs.10 and the dividend declared is 100%, what you get is Rs.10 only for Rs.200 investment and that is only 5% income. So on an annual basis the total income of the company would reduce and the equity price and the share price has got no guarantee whether it goes up or goes down. I would definitely not like to invest this money in a venture which will enable me to get lesser income than what I am getting today.
• Any special dividend the company plans to give the government that seem to be the plan Coal India had on the cards earlier on?
• There are so many rumours in the markets and all these actions cannot be taken together. It has to be taken after exhausting one or the other. So on the issue of special dividend we have not yet thought of, we have been only asked by the government to indicate the surplus cash that can be released by the company and that we have done, that we have indicated. In what form this should be released, whether by giving a special dividend or by what you suggest buyback or buying equity in some other company, government PSUs, is a matter to be decided by the government. So I would not like to give any comment on that. I will only go by the directives that are issued by the government.

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