New Delhi, Oct. 25 -- JSW Steel Ltd has 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 require 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 ...