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Govt working on policy to offer washed coking coal to steel sector; reduce import dependence: Additional Coal Secretary
Jun 28, 2024
NEW DELHI, 28 June 2024: Mr M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal, Govt of India today said that the Indian coal sector is witnessing a robust growth reaching to around 1 billion ton of coal production, last year and with a CAGR of 11 per cent in last 2 years. “Next year, we will produce around 1100 million tons of coal,” he added. The government, he said, has launched the coking coal mission with a target of producing 140 million tons by 2030.
Addressing the FICCI workshop on ‘Coal Matrix for Indian Metals Industry’, Mr Nagaraju stated that the government will set up 8 coking coal washery to meet the demand of steel sector. “By 2029-30, we should have the capacity to produce as much as the country demands for coal and be in a position to supply the coal to other countries,” he emphasized.
For the steel sector, Mr Nagaraju stated that the government is working on a policy for the steel sector where washery route will be applied as the end-route for coking coal thereby reducing the import dependence. “We are finalizing the policy, once approved, we will be able to offer washed coking coal to the steel sector to blend with the imported coal,” he added.
Highlighting the importance of coal gasification, Mr Nagaraju asserted that the government has already initiated a scheme with Rs 8,500 crores to support both private and public sector to set-up coal gasification plants in the country. “There is tremendous potential for the country to venture and diversify coal,” he added.
Dr Avinash Kumar Mishra, Executive Director (Coal), Railway Board, Govt of India said that coal gasification will take some time to establish itself and Railways will be offering specialized wagons for its transportation. With the increase of production of coal, the dependence on imported coal is likely to come down which will benefit the industry as well. There has been a steep surge in coal availability in the last 2 years which is mostly due to imported coal, he added.
Mr Ashwini Kumar, Economic Adviser, Ministry of Steel, Govt of India said that Indian steel industry contributes around 2.5 per cent to GDP but has a strong backward and forward linkages. “There is a need to develop indigenous technology in coal gasification that will give big boost to the sector. We can expect robust growth in medium-term in the global steel industry. Despite slowdown in the global steel industry, Indian steel industry is in a healthy state, and we expect it to grow at a rate of 10 per cent,” he added.
Mr Vidya Rattan Sharma, Senior Member, FICCI Committee on Steel and Mining and Vice Chairman, JSP Advisory said that coal gasification is the only solution for increasing demand of energy as far as cement or steel industry is concerned.
Mr Rajib Maitra, Partner, Deloitte; Mr Anup Kumar, ED – Collieries Division & CCSO, SAIL; Mr Vivek Mishra, President – Mining and Minerals, Hindalco Industries Ltd; Mr Pankaj Satija, Co-Chair, FICCI Mining Committee and Executive-in-Charge, Ferro Alloys & Minerals Division, Tata Steel Ltd; Mr Sanjay Singh,Director – Strategy and External Relations, JSPL and Former Steel Secretary, Govt of India; Mr Jawahar Lal, GM, NITI Aayog and Mr Prabir Neogi, Mentor, FICCI Power Committee and Advisor, GMR Energy also shared their perspective on the importance of coal gasification and coal availability for Indian metals industry.
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