Even with a conservative demand growth of 10 percent, the country would need 300 million tons of capacity by 2030 to meet demand of about 265 million tons. The statement said that if domestic steel production capacity is not created, the country will become a net importer of steel and will depend on steel imports to build its infrastructure.
According to the National Steel Policy, the country aims to achieve a steel production capacity of 300 million tonnes by 2030 from the current capacity of around 180 million tonnes.
This means the creation of an additional capacity of 120 million tonnes, which equates to an estimated investment of over $120 billion or Rs 10 lakh crore.
This is possible only if there is adequate investment capacity in the steel industry, both large and small, and low steel prices, due to dumping of steel in the international market, the country’s capacity, the statement said. will adversely affect the purpose of production.
India’s steel imports have increased significantly in the first half of 2024-25 compared to the same period last year.
While steel imports were 3.32 million tonnes in the first half of 2023-24, this year imports have increased to 4.73 million tonnes, a 41.3% increase.
The statement explained that although the overall volume of steel imports is not significant compared to the total consumption in the country, cheaper imports lead to lower domestic steel prices and affect both large and small steel producers.
According to the statement, out of 144.30 million tonnes of steel production in the country in 2023-24, 58.93 million tonnes (40.84 per cent) was produced by more than 1002 small producers and 85.37 million tonnes (59.16 per cent) was produced by integrated. Steel producer. Therefore, it is clear that significant production in the steel industry is carried out by small producers spread over several clusters in the country which are equally affected by low steel prices.
The statement also said that the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) in consultation with the Ministry of Steel is taking steps to ensure that only quality steel is produced in the country or imported.
51 BIS standards covering 1,376 grades of steel have been notified and covered under the Ministry of Steel’s Quality Control Orders. It ensures that steel imported domestically or abroad conforms to BIS standards and that low quality steel is neither produced nor imported.