Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?
1. It is the policy o

Question

Despite having large reserves of coal, why does India import millions of tonnes of coal?
1. It is the policy of India to save its own coal reserves for future, and import it from other countries for the present use.
2. Most of the power plants in India are coal-based and they are not able to get sufficient supplies of coal from within the country.
3. Steel companies need large quantity of coking coal which has to be imported.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

Accepted Answer

The correct answer is B because statements 2 and 3 accurately reflect the economic and geological realities of Indias coal sector.

Statement 1 is incorrect because India does not have a policy to deliberately hoard coal for the future while relying on imports. On the contrary, the government consistently pushes to increase domestic production to reduce the import bill and achieve energy self sufficiency.

Statement 2 is correct because domestic production often fails to keep pace with the rapidly growing demand from power plants. Logistic bottlenecks, environmental clearances, and land acquisition issues often lead to supply shortages, forcing plants to rely on imports to maintain operations.

Statement 3 is correct because Indian coal is generally of non coking grade and has high ash content. The steel industry requires high quality coking coal for blast furnaces, which is not available in sufficient quantities within India. Therefore, metallurgical coal must be imported primarily from countries like Australia.

Answer

1 only

Answer

2 and 3 only

Answer

1 and 3 only

Answer

1, 2 and 3

Explanation

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