Explanation
- A
saltpetre
Saltpetre is potassium nitrate, used historically in gunpowder and in some fertilisers. It is not a feedstock the Indian steel industry must import. This option is not the key.
- B
rock phosphate
Rock phosphate is a fertiliser raw material. Steelmaking does not rest on imported rock phosphate. This option is therefore wrong.
- C
coking coal
Indian blast-furnace steel needs metallurgical (coking) coal to make coke. Domestic coking-coal quantity and quality are inadequate, so the industry imports coking coal. This option is the official key.
- D
All of the above
All of the above would be true only if saltpetre and rock phosphate were also steel-import needs. They are not. This option is not the key.
Summary. Official key is (c) coking coal. Integrated steel plants depend on coke from coking coal, which India imports in large volume. Saltpetre and rock phosphate belong to explosives and fertiliser chemistry, not to the steel import basket asked here. ‘All of the above’ therefore fails. Only coking coal matches the industry’s import requirement.
Same topic · past papers
UPSC has asked this before
These previous-year questions sit on the same topic. Open one to practise the earlier ask.
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2020 · Q87 · General Studies · 2 marks
"The crop is subtropical in nature. A hard frost is injurious to it. It requires at least 210 frost-free days and 50 to 100 centimeters of rainfall for its growth. A light well-drained soil capable of retaining moisture is ideally suited for the cultivation of the crop." Which one of the following is that crop?