The government has halved the size of the stake it plans to sell in Coal India to 5 percent after reaching a deal with the main trade unions, Reuters reported.

The government was set to invite bids from bankers and advisers in May for a planned stake sale of 10 percent, but put the process on hold after the trade unions threatened to go on an indefinite strike if the sale went ahead. That would have come as a blow to the energy hungry nation, which relies on coal to fuel almost 60 percent of its power generation. Coal India produces almost 80 percent of India's coal.

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