If India has to fight a war with China, it has to be fought on all fronts, at borders as well as economic front. Every item imported, has to be manufactured locally. That is PM Narendra ModiÂs vision of AatmaNirbhar Bharat ÂLocal is VocalÂ.Met coke is one of the critical pillar, on which India is dependent on China

So the real war is now that India should increase its met coke making capacities to be self-dependent, as met coke is an import substitution product. India can become the next hub of coke manufacturing for the world only if we do not consume Chinese coke. Almost the entire world is dependent on China, as it is the single largest producer and exporter of coke in the world, China dictates the coke market by either increasing coke price or dumping the coke price to such a level that the Indian government had to impose the anti-dumping duty of USD 25 per ton on imports from China which increases the profit margin of domestic producers like Simplex Coke. India is going to be next hub with Kandla port as the epicenter of coke manufacturing. Simplex can take advantage to grow and become the largest producer and aggregator of coke in the country, catering domestic / worldmarket.

India has meagre reserves of coking coal and coke making capacity, so it does not figure in the world rankings. It has earmarked a huge expansion of the steel industry to meet the population base. Existing coke capacities at various steel plants within India have aged and they need immediate replacement.

Simplex Coke is the 4th largest merchant manufacturer and trader of met coke in India and currently has a market share of approximately 5% in west and north India. It has installed stamp charging technology in its port-based plants located in Kutch &Porbandar. From there they intend to do coastal movement of coke to Haldia, Vizag, Chennai, Goa port and have also tied up with 7 coke manufacturers to build a pan India presence. Vatsal Agarwal has grown his company from a humble turnover of Rs.4 crores to Rs.100 crores in a span of barely 4 years with key customers like Tata Chemical, Nirma, Hindustan Zinc, Hindalco, Jindal Saw, Essar, Kirloskar, JSPL, etc.

ÂAs per Steel Policy 2017 India has a target to produce 300 MT of steel by 2030. To achieve this target 30 MT of coke making facilities are required in addition to the existing, envisaged facilities and coke import. Presently India is importing approximately 3 to 4 MT of Coke per year, said Mr P.K. Rath CMD of RINL.

Simplex Coke also has a piling division which has risen to become IndiaÂs largest piling rig rental company, it recently acquired 15 brand new piling rigs and is executing several metro and infrastructure projects as India has a huge infrastructure budget of Rs.111 Lakh crores. 

Vatsal Agarwal has recently signed an MOU with the Gujarat government, under ÂVibrant Gujarat to set up new manufacturing as India has a shortfall of coke capacities under the ÂMake in India scheme.