India signs MoU with Russia for cooperation on coking coal

The government has approved a MoU on coking coal cooperation between India's Ministry of Steel and Russia's Ministry of Energy. Coking coal is a key steel-making raw material for which domestic producers are still reliant on imports from a small number of countries. Imports account for approximately 85 per cent of India's coking coal demand. India will be able to reduce its reliance on far-flung countries like Australia, South Africa, Canada, and the US for coking coal as a result of its cooperation with Russia. It will also lower the per-tonne cost of steel production as Russia is closer geographically than the other countries.