Govt making policy to facilitate supply of washery coking coal to steel sector

The government is working on a policy for the steel sector where the washery route will be applied as the end-route for coking coal thereby reducing the import dependence, M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal said in New Delhi today.

The government is working on a policy for the steel sector where the washery route will be applied as the end-route for coking coal thereby reducing the import dependence, M Nagaraju, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Coal said in New Delhi today. "We are finalising 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.

The washery route refers to the process of cleaning coal to remove impurities like soil, rock, and other non-coal materials. This process, known as coal washing or coal beneficiation, improves the quality of the coal. For coking coal used in steel production, washing helps produce cleaner and more efficient coal, which can then be used in steel plants. By using the washery route, steel producers can rely more on domestic coal, reducing the need for imported coal. Addressing the FICCI workshop on 'Coal Matrix for Indian Metals Industry', he stated that the government will set up 8 coking coal washeries to meet the demand of the 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 emphasised. Additional Secretary further added that the Indian coal sector is witnessing robust growth reaching around 1 billion tons of coal production, last year and with a CAGR of 11 per cent in the 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.

For the steel sector, Nagaraju stated that the government is working on a policy for the steel sector where the 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, he asserted that the government has already initiated a scheme with Rs 8,500 crores to support both the private and public sectors 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. Speaking at the workshop, Ashwini Kumar, Economic Adviser, Ministry of Steel, Govt of India said that the Indian steel industry contributes around 2.5 per cent to GDP but has strong backward and forward linkages. "There is a need to develop indigenous technology in coal gasification that will give a big boost to the sector. We can expect robust growth in the medium term in the global steel industry. Despite a slowdown in the global steel industry, the Indian steel industry is in a healthy state, and we expect it to grow at a rate of 10 per cent," he added. (ANI)

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