India eyes energy sources diversification; keens to import premium coking coal from US: Piyush Goyal
Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal has said that India is looking to diversify its sources of crude oil and coking coal and is keen to import premium-quality coking coal from the United States (US). He said India is currently reliant on 2 or 3 geographies for coking coal needs and prices keep fluctuating.
The minister has said that the US can provide certain goods that are critical for India’s economic growth, including Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) for Artificial Intelligence applications, equipment for data centres and high-performance computing. He said that India can manufacture products that the US cannot compete in, while America can be a strong source of technology and capital. He said India has aircraft demand worth $100 billion from the US over the next five years and the country needs more to increase local capacity and bring down fares.
The minister further stated that under an interim trade agreement with the US, India intends to purchase $500 billion goods from US over the next five years. He said a team of Indian officials is visiting the US next week to finalise the legal text for an interim trade agreement, which is expected to be signed in March. He added that entering into a trade agreement with the US is good for India as it opens huge opportunities for Indian firms, particularly in labour-oriented goods and technology services.
