In India, the steel production industry requires the import of
Answer & explanation
Answer: (c) coking coal
Steel made by the blast-furnace route needs coking coal. India's domestic coking coal is high in ash and limited in quantity, so the steel industry imports a large share of it. Rock phosphate is imported too, but it is a fertiliser raw material, not a steelmaking input.
- ✗ (a) Saltpetre is not a raw material of the steel industry, so steelmaking does not create a need to import it.
- ✗ (b) India is about 90% dependent on imports for rock phosphate. However, the Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers identifies it as the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilisers, not for steel.
- ✓ (c) The Ministry of Coal's inter-ministerial committee report records that the Indian steel industry meets about 70% of its coking coal requirements through imports. Australia is the main supplier.
- ✗ (d) Among the options, only coking coal is an import need of the steel industry, so 'All of the above' fails.
Remember · Coking coal is the steel industry's main imported input, mostly from Australia. Rock phosphate is imported for fertilisers (DAP, NPK), not for steel.
Sources
- Ministry of Coal – IMC Report on Augmentation and Consumption of Domestic Coking Coal by Steel Sector ↗ “Indian steel industry fulfils ~70% of its coking coal requirements through imports.”
- PIB, Ministry of Chemicals and Fertilizers – India to become Aatmanirbhar in Phosphatic Fertilisers ↗ “Rock Phosphate is the key raw material for DAP and NPK fertilisers and India is 90% dependent on imports.”
Question: UPSC Civil Services (Preliminary) 2015, General Studies Paper I. Explanation: Minimalist IAS, checked 25 Oct 2026 (how we verify). ·
