Ministry of Steel to give away awards to secondary steel sector for the first time

New Delhi, Sept 12 (KNN) In a bid to encourage secondary steel sector as it plays a crucial in generating employment and acts as a growth engine for the national economy, the Ministry of Steel would give away awards to the secondary steel sector for the first time as a token of appreciation on September 13, 2018 at a function in New Delhi.

“Strong performance of the secondary steel sector has added muscle to India’s steel production,” the Ministry said in a release.

On the basis of present growth pattern, the Steel Ministry has anticipated that India will rise to second position after China.

The production capacity in 2017-18 has already reached 137.97 million tonnes (MT) and the National Steel Policy 2017 has set a target of 300 million tonnes per annum of production capacity by 2030, it added.

Growing in conjunction with the primary steel sector, the secondary steel sector holds enormous potential for growth and opportunities in the country.

This sector has certain specific advantages over the primary steel sector such as lower capital and land requirements and the capability to produce special sections and customized products.

With these abilities, the sector is bound to play a major role in actualizing the growth target of 300 million tonnes of steel production capacity by 2030.

The secondary steel sector comprises various sub-sectors such as sponge iron units, EAFs, IF units, re-rolling mills, cold rolling mills, galvanizing units, wire drawing units, and tinplate producers with annual production capacity of less than 1 million tonne and they meet the country’s demand for value added steel products.

Listing the various initiatives taken to improve the performance of this sector, the ministry said government has taken initiatives like supporting energy efficiency projects and R&D activities, strengthening institutional support, protecting domestic producers from below-cost import from foreign countries through antidumping measures, launching of an award scheme to recognize and encourage progressive units for adopting energy-efficient technologies and innovative measures.

World crude steel production in 2017 registered a growth rate of about 5.3% as compared to the previous year. The global production in 2017 stood at 1691.2 million tonnes.

With about 6% share in the total world crude steel production, India occupies the third position behind China and Japan. The steel industry in India contributes nearly 2 per cent to the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).