The Indian government has declared coking coal to be a “critical and strategic” mineral, as it aims to increase domestic production and reduce imports, government sources said on Friday, January 30.
The sources said that, by placing coking coal among the critical and strategic mineral category, it will enable the government to faster approve clearances of development and extraction projects, and offer greater policy initiatives and political support to projects spread out over various states.
The government also said the reform would help strengthen the resilience of supply chains for the steel sector and support the objectives of the National Steel Policy. It is also expected to stimulate private investment in exploration, enrichment and advanced mining technologies, while creating jobs in the mining, logistics and metallurgy industries, the sources added.
Currently, around 95 percent of the coking coal requirement of the steel sector is met through imports, leading to substantial foreign exchange outflows
India has approximately 37.37 billion mt of coking coal resources, largely located in Jharkhand, with additional reserves in Madhya Pradesh, West Bengal and Chhattisgarh, yet imports increased from 51.20 million mt 2020-21 to 57.58 million mt in 2024-25.
