This has also helped SAIL, which incurred a loss of Rs 612 crore in the first quarter of the current fiscal after reporting Rs 1,573-crore loss in the last fiscal, to end the uncertainty about annual increase in coal prices.

Moreover, as a cost reduction measure, SAIL has started importing cheaper soft coking coal and is using it to the extent of 5-7 per cent in coal blend.

Since Indian coal has high ash content, which restricts blast furnace productivity, SAIL imports about half of its coal requirement. Indian coal has ash content of more than 20 per cent, whereas imported coal, mostly from Australia and New Zealand, has around 8 per cent ash. SAIL imports soft coking coal from Canada and has recentlyfloated a global tender for the import of 500,000 tonnes of soft coking coal.

In order to reduce cost, the steel major has gradually reduced the volume of its coking coal imports from 6.6 million tonne (mt) in 1996-97 to 6.2mt in 1997-98 and further to 5.6mt in 1998-99 fiscals. ``This was possible by inducting improved technology and more effective operational planning,'' a senior SAIL official said. Apart from around 6 mt blast furnace coal, SAIL also imports 400,000 tonnes of boiler grade coal.

Coking coal is the costliest input for the production of hot metal through the blast furnace route and constitutes about one third of the cost of steel production. During the current fiscal SAIL aims at cost reduction of Rs 1,000 crore mostly through reduction of coal consumption.

SAIL plants have been consistently registering lower blast furnace coke rates which indicate reduction in consumption of furnace coke. At present, SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant in Madhya Pradesh is operating with an average coke rate aslow as 529 kg per tonne of hot metal, closely followed by Bokaro Steel Plant in Bihar with 538 kg per tonne. The figure for Durgapur Steel Plant in West Bengal, where only one modernised blast furnace is in operation, is higher at 595 kg per tonne. The only plant falling back is Rourkela Steel Plant in Orissa, with coke rate well above 600 kg per tonne.

The Ranchi-based Research & Development Centre for Iron & Steel has already made a detailed techno-economic study and there is a feeling that once again SAIL's cost reduction efforts in this area would bear fruit, the official said.

Technologically, SAIL's focus is on coal dust injection. Both Bhilai and Bokaro steel plants have one such facility each. Coal dust injection has already helped SAIL in reducing coke rate by around 100 kg per tonne of hot metal.

"With coal dust injection SAIL's these two blast furnaces operate at international levels. Efforts are being made to introduce this technology in other blast furnaces of the company," the officialsaid.