The government has received around 75 applications from domestic players under the PLI scheme for specialty steel, according to an official.

Applicants include all major steel players such as ataSteel, JSW Steel, JSPL, AMNSIndia and SAIL, a senior steel ministry official said.

“A significant number of applications have been received. There around 75 applications,” the official said.

However, no proposal has been received from any foreign entity, according to the official.

After shortlisting the proposals, the government will come out with a final list which would take around35-40 days, the official said.

The government had set the final deadline of September 15 after several extensions for receiving proposals from the manufacturers for benefits under the PLI (Production-Linked Incentive) scheme for specialty steel.

The Union cabinet in July last year approved a Rs 6,322- crore PLI scheme to boost the production of specialty steel in India.

The move is expected to attract an additional investment of about Rs 40,000 crore and generate 5.25 lakh job opportunities.

The government is working to increase the domestic production of coking coal as the country aims to have a steel-making capacity of 300 million tonne by 2030-31, steel secretary Sanjay Kumar Singh said last week.

Coking coal is a key input in steel making and the country remains dependent on imports to meet 85 per cent of its coking coal needs