India approves sale of Coal India stake, seeks $3 billion

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - India's cabinet has cleared the sale of another 10 percent stake in state-run Coal India that could raise as much as $3 billion (2 billion pounds), a minister said on Wednesday, as the government seeks more funds to spend on infrastructure.

The timing of the Coal India stake sale will be decided by the finance ministry, power and coal minister Piyush Goyal told reporters after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Goyal also said India would launch an initial public offering of Cochin Shipyard Ltd, which runs a yard that can build and repair big vessels.

(Reporting by C.K. Nayak; Writing by Krishna N. Das; Editing by Douglas Busvine)