Institutional investors eagerly embraced the government stake-sale of Coal India during this fiscal year, as bids worth Rs 6,500 crore flooded in on the first day of the offer-for-sale. The government had made available over 8.31 crore shares to institutional investors on Thursday under the offer-for-sale (OFS), but the response was overwhelming, with bids received for 28.76 crore shares, surpassing the offering by a factor of 3.46. At an indicative price of Rs 226.12 per share, the institutional buyers' bids totaled Rs 6,500 crore. Tuhin Kanta Pandey, Secretary of the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management, shared the news on Twitter, stating, "Offer for Sale in CIL received enthusiastic response from non-retail investors today. The issue was subscribed 3.46 times of the base size. The government has decided to exercise the green shoe option. Retail investors get to bid tomorrow." Currently, the government holds a 66.13 percent stake in Coal India. The stake sale in Coal India will assist the government in making progress towards its disinvestment target of Rs 51,000 crore for the current fiscal year. The two-day OFS involves the government selling over 18.48 crore shares, equivalent to 3 percent of the PSU coal producer, at a floor price of Rs 225 per share. The sale also includes a green-shoe option of 1.5 percent in the event of oversubscription. Shares of Coal India closed the day at Rs 230.55 apiece on the BSE, marking a 4.42 percent decline from the previous closing price.