The Indian government must include coking coal in the list of critical minerals and provide special dispensation to enhance the domestic production of the key raw material for steel production, the government policy advisory body National Institution for Transformation of India Commission (NITI Aayog) said in a report on Monday, November 25.
“The Government of India (GoI) must include coking coal in the list of critical minerals since coking coal constitutes approximately 42 percent of the cost of steel which is an essential commodity for infrastructure development and downstream industries, which are large job creators in India,” the report said.
The European Union has declared coking coal as a critical raw material along with 29 other raw materials which include ‘green energy’ minerals like lithium, cobalt, and rare earths.
India’s import dependence on the mineral is about 85 percent, which is much higher than that of the EU at 62 percent, the report noted.
“Since the declaration of coking coal as a critical mineral is amply justified in India, the government can provide a special dispensation to enhance its domestic production to provide coking coal security for India’s steel sector,” the report added.