PR No – 165
11th September 2025
New Delhi
PHDCCI’s Insight: Roadmap to Atmanirbharata in Steel Inputs through Exploration, Beneficiation & Green Technologies
New Delhi, 11th September 2025- India imports over 85 per cent of its coking coal requirement, mainly from Australia. What structural and policy interventions are needed to reduce this dependence and move towards true Atmanirbharata in steelmaking inputs?
India’s reliance on imported coking coal, especially from Australia, leaves its steel sector vulnerable to price shocks, logistics risks, and geopolitical pressures. To build resilience and achieve Atmanirbharata, structural and policy interventions Government of India is focusing on both the supply and demand side. On supply, the government has improved systems to accelerate exploration of reserves through advanced geological mapping, however, further improvements for example using Depth and 3D / Seismic Mapping would enhance the quality of data substantially.
Large-scale coal beneficiation, especially washeries, can improve the quality of high-ash domestic coal and make it usable for steelmaking. Policy support through viability gap funding, modular washery deployment, and water-efficient dry beneficiation should be prioritised.
On the demand side, blast furnaces should be retrofitted to maximise Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) and blending of domestic with imported coal. Incentives and technical guidelines can enable this transition.
In parallel, India must diversify import sources, establish strategic reserves, and secure long-term supply contracts to avoid concentration risks. Industrial policy tools like carbon pricing, preferential procurement for low-carbon steel, and CCUS pilots can help further. Together, these interventions can reduce vulnerability, cut import dependence, and pave the way for a more secure, Atmanirbhar steel ecosystem.
Given the constraints of limited high-quality reserves in India, how feasible is it to scale up domestic exploration, beneficiation, or alternative technologies such as coal blending and hydrogen-based steelmaking as part of the Atmanirbharata roadmap?
Coal has been the backbone of steelmaking in India (both as coking coal in blast furnaces and non-coking coal in coal-based DRI), but multiple substitute technologies are emerging. The answer is yes, coal can be replaced, but the feasibility differs across timeframes and depends on technology, cost, and infrastructure. India has significant coking coal reserves, but most are high-ash, low-quality, and challenging to mine. Scaling up exploration is feasible but slow, given geological complexities and delays in environmental and land clearances.
Commercial mining auctions and new exploration technologies could unlock reserves, but developing viable mines typically takes 5–8 years. A faster pathway lies in beneficiation. Large-scale washeries can upgrade domestic coal and reduce ash content, making it suitable for blending in steel plants. Modular washeries near coalfields, supported by subsidies or PPPs, are highly feasible in the short term and can cut import dependence more quickly.
PCI and blending technologies also offer immediate substitution opportunities by reducing coke intensity in blast furnaces. In the medium term, electric arc furnaces (EAF) powered by scrap and gas- or hydrogen-based DRI routes can significantly reduce coking coal demand.
Scrap collection and EAF adoption are realistic with targeted policy incentives, while hydrogen-based steel remains a long-term option dependent on falling renewable power and electrolyser costs.
Green hydrogen pilots under India’s National Hydrogen Mission are promising but can be scaled further. Thus, while full self-sufficiency is unlikely soon, a combination of beneficiation, blending, and low-carbon alternatives offers a pragmatic, phased roadmap to Atmanirbharata.