To create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry that promotes self-sufficiency in steel production as well as economic growth.Dsicuss Various initiatives taken by the Government ?

 

Introduction:

India was the world’s second-largest steel producer with production standing at 111.2 million tonnes (MT) in 2019. The growth in the Indian steel sector has been driven by domestic availability of raw materials such as iron ore and cost-effective labour. Consequently, the steel sector has been a major contributor to India’s manufacturing output.

 

The Indian steel industry is modern with state-of-the-art steel mills. It has always strived for continuous modernisation of older plants and up-gradation to higher energy efficiency levels.Indian steel industry is classified into three categories - major producers, main producers and secondary producers.

 

Market Size

 

India’s finished steel consumption grew at a CAGR of 5.2% during FY16-FY20 to reach 100 MT. India’s crude steel and finished steel production increased to 108.5 MT and 101.03 MT in FY20P, respectively.

 

Between April 2020 and November 2020, India’s cumulative production of crude steel was 62.01 MT and finished steel was 55.68 MT.

 

Export and import of finished steel stood at 8.24 MT and 6.69 MT, respectively, in FY20P.

 

Export and import of finished steel stood at 7.70 MT and 2.70 MT, respectively, between April 2020 and November 2020.

 

 

The National Steel Policy, 2017 envisage 300 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030-31. The per capita consumption of steel has increased from 57.6 kgs to 74.1 kgs during the last five years. The government has a fixed objective of increasing rural consumption of steel from the current 19.6 kg/per capita to 38 kg/per capita by 2030-31.

 

           0)       created competitive advantages to make India ‘Aatmanirbhar’.

i)        Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) Policy with an objective to encourage production and consumption of domestically produced steel.

(ii)       Steel Scrap Policy to enhance the availability of domestically generated scrap.

(iii)      Issuance of Steel Quality Control Orders to prevent manufacturing and  import of non-standardized steel.

(iv)      Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) for advanced registration of steel imports.

 (v)      Engagement with various stakeholders including industry associations and leaders of domestic steel industry to identify their issues required to be addressed by the concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central Government and State Governments.

(vi)      Engagement with relevant stakeholders including those from the Ministry/ Department of Railways, Defence, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Housing, Civil Aviation, Road Transport and Highways, Agriculture and Rural Development sectors to enhance the overall demand for steel in the country.

(vii)     Inclusion of ‘Specialty Steel’ under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme recently announced by the Government

(viii)    Various schemes as notified from time to time to refund or exempt taxes and duties levied on inputs used in export production like Duty Drawback Scheme and Advanced Authorization Scheme etc. to improve the cost competitiveness of exported items.