UPSC Prelims 2015 – Question 58

58.In India, the steel production industry requires the
import of

1. a) saltpetre
2. b) rock phosphate
3. c) coking coal
4. d) All of the above

The correct answer is coking coal.  

• Saltpetre (Potassium nitrate)  
• Potassium nitrate, sometimes known as saltpetre, is not utilised in the manufacture of steel. 
• It’s used to make fertiliser, clear tree stumps, rocket propellant, and fireworks. 
• It has been used as a food preservative since the Middle Ages and is one of the main components of gunpowder (often known as “black powder”). 
• Unlike steel production, the production of fertiliser uses rock phosphate. 
• India imports coking coal. Hence Option 3 is Correct. 
• One tonne of steel requires the production of 0.8 tonnes of coking coal. 

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