



Govt may mandate 30% domestic coking coal blending for new steel capacity to make the sector Atmanirbhar
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories.All new steel plants opening till the year 2030 may have to mandatorily use 30% domestic coking coal, under a plan to reduce import dependence and boost local coal use. Currently, steel plants use a maximum of 20% domestic coal in their operations.The blending mandate is expected to reduce the cost of importing coking coal by almost 25%, two people aware of the plan said.
Under India's National Steel Policy, plants with a capacity of 150 million tonnes (mt) capacity are expected to come on stream by 2030. The policy proposes to raise India’s crude steel production from 168 mt in fiscal year 2026 (FY26) to 300 mt by FY31.“Our aim is to increase production of coking coal and reduce dependence on imports, while helping the steel sector get assured supply of fuel required for steelmaking.
Higher blending of good quality domestic coking coal up to 30% is a step in that direction,” one of the two people mentioned above said on the condition of anonymity.The blending ratio will be further raised in future, and the 30% mandate will apply to existing steel capacities too, the person added, as availability of good quality domestic washed coal improves.Steelmakers import relatively purer coking coal suitable for metallurgy, while Indian coal typically has high amounts of ash and sulfur, which reduce blast furnace efficiency. Coal washeries help clean up the impurities, and make it suitable for steelmaking.
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