Steel ministry News

The concept of Production-Linked Incentives (PLI) was conceived during the global lockdowns of 2020, emphasising the need to boost domestic manufacturing.  

He said that industry has made great strides in production by moving from 22 million tonnes in 1991 to 120 million tonnes in 2021-22. He said that strategy needs to be devised to reach the target of 300 million tonnes by 2030 and 500 million tonnes by 2047.

The steel ministry had an interactive session with steel companies based in Odisha. The minister chaired the meeting which saw participation of officials from those companies.

The proposed USD 1 billion JV between global steel giant ArcelorMittal and India's largest producer of the metal SAIL will be finalised by December.

 India, the world's third largest steel producer, was among the top 10 importers of the alloy last year, according to the latest data by the global industry body World Steel Association (WSA).

India's steel imports dipped by 8.7 percent last month but was up 24.1 percent for the April-January period of the ongoing fiscal.

Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Nripendra Misra on Tuesday held a meeting with Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar, Steel Secretary Rakesh Singh, Odisha Chief Secretary G C Pati and Posco India CMD Gee Woong Sung on the steps that can be taken to save the project, sources said.

Besides, thrust is also being given to develop more value added products for which the country is mostly dependent on imports, the official added.

Verma was appointed CMD of the country's largest steel producer for a 5-year term in June 2010 by the previous UPA government.

"The AFISCO project has been put in cold storage. There are several issues. First, it is about the security of the personnel in that country. Then there is a question of economic feasibility as it is difficult to operate there due to a continuous conflict hurting the basic infrastructure," the source said.

"The Ministry of Steel is facilitating setting up of SPVs in mineral-rich states of Odisha, Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand and Karnataka,"

The steel ministry has asked its finance counterpart to raise import duty on the metal amid serious concerns of the industry over "dumping" from China.

SAIL has undertaken modernisation and expansion at five of its steel plants to augment its crude steel production capacity to 21.4 MTPA.

The Mines and Steel Ministry has sought import duty hike on finished steel products to 10 percent, besides complete withdrawal of the levy on imports of steel-making inputs such as iron ore and coking coal in the coming Budget.

Facing a double whammy of rising imports and declining exports, domestic steel manufacturers are fearing further squeeze in their margins in a stubbornly subdued domestic market.

Steel Ministry Tuesday directed PSU iron ore miner NMDC to advance its 100 mtpa production target by four years to 2020-21 to ensure the raw material for the domestic steel industry at reasonable prices.

India's steel consumption grew by a moderate 1.3 percent to 48.62 million tonnes during the April-November period of current fiscal on lingering effect of the economic slowdown and slow growth in production.

International Coal Ventures Ltd (ICVL) was set up in 2009 for acquiring coal mines abroad with an initial authorised capital of about Rs 10,000 crore.

Finance Ministry will take a call on withdrawing import duty of iron ore in the face of falling domestic supplies that is forcing steel makers to buy the raw material from overseas market, a Steel Ministry official said.

NINL also produces LAM coke used by the steel industry. It has a 62.5 MW captive power plant to meet captive needs.