New Delhi, Aug 27 - The government Thursday allowed the state-owned Coal India to import coking coal and high grade ash thermal coal by acquiring coal properties abroad or overseas joint ventures.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) authorised an Empowered Committee of Secretaries (ECS) to look into Coal India's proposal to import coking coal for meeting domestic demand.

The ECS had been constituted earlier to consider proposals by International Coal Ventures, a special purpose vehicle set up jointly by five state-owned companies - Steel Authority of India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, power utility NTPC, National Mineral Development Corp and Coal India - for acquiring coal properties abroad.

'Since India does not have enough reserves of metallurgical and high grade coal to meet the projected gap between demand and supply, efforts are being made to secure resources abroad from where long term supply of coal at reasonable prices could be assured,' the coal ministry said in a statement Thursday.