India’s coking coal imports are expected to surge by a massive 175 percent to 160 million mt by 2030, due to limited domestic availability and the ramping up of steelmaking capacity touching a target of 300 million mt set by the government, secretary of the ministry of steel, Sandeep Poundrik, said in a statement on Friday, April 25.
Indian steel production has been estimated at 151.1 million mt in 2024-25 with total installed capacity standing at 200 million mt.
The problem with steel capacity addition in the country lies in logistics and the preferred mode of transporting steel, which is in high demand across the country, even though railway is cheaper than road transport, Poundrik said.
The major steel plants being concentrated in the two states of Odisha and Karnataka pose a problem due to the congestion of railways, he added.