India is striving to increase domestic production of raw coking coal to 140 million tonnes by 2030 through a range of initiatives.

Coking coal is a high-quality coal that is low in impurities and has a high carbon content, which makes it ideal for use in the metallurgical process.

Coking coal is used to produce coke, which is a porous, solid carbon material that is used as a fuel and a reducing agent in the production of iron and steel.

In a bid to further step up the coking coal production in India, the Ministry of Coal has identified four coking coal blocks.

Further, the Central Mine Planning and Design Institute (CMPDI), a subsidiary of state-owned Coal India Limited, will finalise Geological Reports (GR) for an additional 4 to 6 coking coal blocks in the coming months.

These blocks may be made available to private sector companies through auctions, with the goal of increasing the domestic supply of raw coking coal.

"With these measures being undertaken by the Ministry under Aatmanirbhar Bharat, domestic raw coking coal production is likely to reach 140 Million Ton (MT) by 2030," the Coal Ministry said on Wednesday (29 December).

In addition, Coal India Ltd (CIL) has planned to increase raw coking coal production from existing mines by up to 26 million tonnes and has identified nine new mines with a Peak Rate Capacity (PRC) of approximately 22 million tonnes by the financial year 2024-25, the ministry said.

CIL is also offering eight of the 30 discontinued coking coal mines to the private sector on a revenue sharing model, with a PRC of 2 million tonnes.