mumbai, Oct. 26 -- JSW Steel Ltd called for faster development of domestic iron ore mines and investment in coal washeries to support India's long-term steel capacity ambitions, warning that expanding production will need a stronger raw material supply chain even as the country seeks to reduce import dependence. "India has a lot of iron ore. We have to make sure that iron ore is brought out in terms of supply, and remove bottlenecks. Mines should not be allowed to stay non-functional once allocations are made. Squatting on resources has to be avoided, and people should get the mines going," Jayant Acharya, joint managing director and chief executive officer of JSW Steel, said in an interview with Mint. Acharya's comments come amid ambitious national targets. Under the draft National Steel Policy (NSP), India aims to scale its crude steel capacity to 600 million tonnes (mt) and consumption to 505 mt by 2047. As an intermediate milestone, the previous NSP set a target to raise crude steel production capacity to 300 mt by 2031, up from the current installed capacity of 220 mt. While India possesses substantial mineral reserves, Acharya noted several mines remain unexplored or non-operational, restricting raw material supply as steelmakers plan these major capacity additions. The challenge extends to coking coal, a key input in blast furnace-based steelmaking. India has historically depended heavily on international supplies, but greater investment in coal washeries could allow domestic coal with semi-hard or semi-soft coking properties to be blended with imported coal, improving self-reliance, Acharya said. A combination of domestic production and imports will remain necessary as India scales up steelmaking, he added. Steelmakers may need to import iron ore of different grades to blend with domestic supplies, depending on iron content and impurities such as alumina and silica. "Self-reliance with some imports can work if you have to go to the 600 million tonnes in the draft policy," Acharya said. India's steel consumption grew 7.5% in the first half of the current financial year, strengthening the case for capacity additions. Acharya said the country's domestic demand, driven by infrastructure, construction and manufacturing, provides long-term visibility for the sector. "Unless the industry adds capacity in time, supply will lag demand," he said. India's crude steel production was 170 million tonnes in fiscal year 2026 (FY26), while finished steel consumption was 164 million tonnes. JSW's current steel capacity, including overseas operations and joint ventures, is at 37.9 million tonnes per annum (mtpa), which it expects to expand to about 80 mtpa by 2032. India's largest steelmaker will also prioritise ongoing capacity expansions at Utkal, Vijayanagar and Dolvi over its proposed green steel project at Salav, as it awaits greater clarity on natural gas availability and renewable energy capacity, Acharya said. JSW Steel is focusing on brownfield expansions that offer lower costs and can be commissioned in phases. Its Utkal project, with a planned capacity of 10 mtpa, is estimated to cost about Rs.48,000 crore, excluding associated pellet plants. Including the latter, the investment would be around Rs.55,000 crore, or about $550 per tonne of capacity, Acharya said. The company also plans to complete the second phase of its JSW Vijayanagar Metallics Limited (JVML) expansion of 5 mtpa, alongside the ongoing third phase of expansion at Dolvi to scale capacity from 10 mtpa to 15 mtpa. Slated for commissioning by 2030, these projects will be funded entirely through internal accruals and generate additional cash flows for future growth. The company has planned a 4-mtpa green steel facility at Salav in Maharashtra, based on direct reduced iron (DRI) and electric arc furnace (EAF) technology. The plant is expected to operate on renewable energy and natural gas, with a targeted carbon footprint of less than 0.7 tonnes of carbon dioxide per tonne of crude steel. However, this will be taken up in phases once the geopolitical situation stabilises and the company has better visibility on gas supplies and renewable energy generation. JSW Steel is also evaluating coal gasification but believes conventional steelmaking routes remain more viable at present....