Indian state-run miner NMDC is "actively ‍exploring" ‍coal reserves in ​Canada to boost the country's steel ⁠manufacturing capacity, India's steel ⁠minister H.D. Kumaraswamy said ‌on Thursday.

The comments came after Kumaraswamy ⁠held a bilateral meeting with Canada's Minister of Natural Resources Tim Hodgson ⁠to deepen cooperation ​in critical minerals, clean mobility, advanced manufacturing and ‍sustainable industrial development, the government ​said in a statement.

India wants to secure stable supplies of key raw materials such as coking coal, lithium, cobalt and rare earth elements as it expands steel ⁠production and ‌accelerates its transition to cleaner energy, the statement ‌added.

(Reporting ⁠by Surbhi Misra in Bengaluru, ⁠Editing by Louise Heavens)