MUMBAI (Thomson Financial) - Tata Steel Ltd, the world's sixth largest steelmaker, said it has signed a fifty-fity joint venture agreement with state-run Steel Authority Of India Ltd (SAIL) to identify, acquire and develop coal blocks in India.

Financial details were not disclosed.

The joint venture had identified four suitable medium coking coal blocks in the eastern state of Jharkhand with reserves of about 600 mln tonnes, and a joint working group is already evaluating it, Tata Steel said in a regulatory filing.

Through this venture both SAIL and Tata Steel aim to harness the country's reserves of hard and soft coking coal, a key ingredient in making steel, as the industry is forecast to see robust growth.