India, Jan. 18 -- New Delhi: Going ahead with reforms in the coal sector, the Narendra Modi government now plans to establish a Coal Regulator on the lines of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India (TRAI) and Central Electricity Authority (CEA).

Sources said that the government feels that since the sector is now opened up, there will be competition and the government will not be required to intervene. "Therefore, we need to have a Coal Regulator. However, what exactly will be given to the Regulator has to be decided," a source said.

The UPA government had introduced the Coal Regulatory Authority Bill, 2013 in the Lok Sabha on 23 December 2013, but it lapsed with the dissolution of the 15th Lok Sabha in May 2014. The Bill seeks to est...