ENA Sectors 2025-12-10 16:21:58 <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>New Delhi, Dec 10 (KNN)</strong> The Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has recommended reducing the current 15 percent basic customs duty on high-grade steel in the upcoming Union Budget to address an inverted duty structure that favors imported gearboxes, as per a report in business daily Mint.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>Inverted Duty Structure Hurts Local Manufacturing</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Imported gearboxes, taxed at 7.5 percent, remain cheaper than locally made ones despite high specialty steel imports. Around 60 percent of domestic wind power gearboxes are imported.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>Specialty Steel: Critical for Performance</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Specialty steel is a high-value, performance-driven material with precise alloying and processing, used in aerospace, defence, automotive, and power generation.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Gearboxes manufactured in India, by private companies, are costlier due to steel imports, limiting domestic competitiveness.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><strong>Government Push for Localisation</strong></span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">The government has mandated enhanced localization of wind turbines, including gearboxes, for utility-scale and government-backed projects, with prototype testing of local components planned for 2027. </span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px">Lowering steel prices is expected to make Indian gearboxes more competitive both domestically and in export markets, where India currently ships around 50 percent of its wind turbine gearbox production.</span></p> <p><span style="font-size:14px"><em><strong>(KNN Bureau)</strong></em></span></p> 44375 https://knnindia.co.in/news/newsdetails/sectors/govt-considers-duty-cut-on-specialty-steel-to-boost-domestic-wind-gearbox-manufacturing-report 2025-12-10 16:21:58 knnindia.co.in