The Steel Ministry would ensure that raw material demands of steel manufacturers, especially secondary steel producers, are met when the mining leases expire in 2020.
Minister of Petroleum & Natural Gas and Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan said that the Steel Ministry is working with Ministry of Mines for least disruption in the process and is developing a roadmap for auction of mines.
Mining leases for coal and iron ore are slated to expire during March 2020.
Pradhan said that the Ministry is also exploring ways to build in clearances along with the leases so that the new lease holders need not go for clearances again.
He also said that the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas is working on a plan for Coal Gasification. He suggested that on the imports of Coking Coal, the industry should explore more options at competitive rates as India is short of this critical resource for the steel sector and imports around 80 per cent of the total requirement.