The government is being lauded for moving ahead with Coal India's disinvestment. The Centre, which raised around Rs 22,500 crore by divesting 10 per cent holding last week, was so secretive that even the seven banks handling the share sale were kept in the dark about the plans. "The sale announcement date took all of us by surprise. We were told to be prepared but nobody imagined disinvestment would be done in January itself," said a banker. The move, aimed at preventing the news from leaking, is likely to be adopted for coming disinvestments, too.

Many small investors couldn't successfully participate in the Coal India disinvestment. The reasons for failing to make applications were many. For some, it was confusion over the discounted price and difficulties in arranging funds in a short time. Some brokers complained they couldn't process many orders, as the exchange systems had slowed just before bidding was to close. The offering saw retail bids worth Rs 1,800 crore and around 170,000 applications.