Q84.
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?
Answer
B
Explanation
Statement 1 is incorrect: There is no official policy to save coal reserves by importing — this is a fabricated statement. Statement 2 is correct: India's thermal power plants face coal shortage due to supply constraints, infrastructure bottlenecks, and Coal India's limited production — they cannot get sufficient coal domestically. Statement 3 is correct: India lacks good quality coking coal (metallurgical coal) for steel production — Indian coal has high ash content and poor coking properties, making steel companies import coking coal.