India’s Steel Sector records remarkable growth, emerges as the 2nd largest global producer
Domestic finished steel production stands at 89.711 million tonnes, witnessing 14.3% growth
Production Linked Incentive Scheme boosts steel sector investments- MoUs signed with 27 companies covering 57 projects with total investment of ₹ 29,530 crore
Nagarnar Integrated Steel Plant made functional this year; Production of Hot Rolled (HR) coil as final product started
Safety First: Steel Quality Control Order introduced by Ministry of Steel & 145 Indian Standards notified under it
CPSEs of Ministry of Steel achieve a record CAPEX in FY 2022-23, maintain momentum in FY 2023-24
Procurement of Ministry through Government e-Marketplace (GeM) soars, exceeds previous year’s orders by 20.8%; Timely payments being ensured to MSMEs
Regular Meetings of Advisory Group for Integrated Steel Plants (ISPs) and Secondary Steel Industry (SSI) being held under the chairmanship of Union Minister of Steel
The steel sector plays a pivotal role in crucial sectors such as construction, infrastructure, automobile, engineering and defence. Over the years, the steel sector has witnessed tremendous growth and India has emerged as a global force in steel production and the 2nd largest producer of steel in the world.
Production and Consumption
The production performance of the steel sector during the first eight months of the current fiscal year (April – November 2023) has been quite promising. The domestic finished steel production stood at 89.711 million tonnes against 78.498 million tonnes during the corresponding period last year (CPLY) which is 14.3% higher than CPLY. The domestic steel consumption stood at 87.066 million tonnes, which is 14.9% higher than CPLY of 75.765 million tonnes. Domestic crude steel production was 94.114 million tonnes, with a growth of 14.7 % when compared to the production of 82.072 million tonnes in the same period last year.
Import and Export
During April – November 2023, finished steel imports increased from 3.751 million tonnes last year to 4.253 million tonnes in the current year, witnessing a growth of 13.4%.
Recent initiatives for growth of steel sector:
Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Government has approved inclusion of ‘Specialty Steel’ under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme, with a 5-year financial outlay of ₹6322 crore to promote the manufacturing of ‘Specialty Steel’ within the country by attracting capital investment and promote technology up-gradation in the steel sector. On 17.03.2023, Government had signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with 27 companies covering 57 applications for categories under the PLI Scheme.
The performance and outcomes of the Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for the steel sector as of Q2, i.e., September 2023 for FY 2023-24 is given below:
| Committed investment (₹ Crore) | Actual Investment till Q2 2023-24 (₹ Crore) | Committed production for FY 2023-24 (000 tonne) | Actual production till Q2 2023-24 (000 tonne) | Employment generation till Q2 2023-24 (Nos.) | Budgeted incentive outlay (₹ Crore) | Actual incentive disbursed (₹ Crore) |
| 29531 | 10730 | 935 | Nil | 3785 | 6332 | Nil* |
*(Incentive to be disbursed from FY 2024-25 onwards)
Nagarnar Integrated Steel Plant
NMDC’s 3 MTPA capacity Greenfield integrated steel plant has been set up at Nagarnar, located 16 km from Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh state. The decision to construct the Nagarnar Integrated Steel Plant was taken keeping in view the linkage with iron ore reserves and availability of investible surplus. The plant became functional on August 24, 2023 and has started production of Hot Rolled (HR) coil as final product.
Green Steel Making
In line with India’s commitments towards net-zero emissions, as enunciated in COP-26, the Ministry of Steel has taken various steps towards decarbonization of the steel sector.
Ministry of Steel constituted 13 Task Forces with the engagement of industry, academia, think tanks, S&T bodies, different Ministries and other stakeholders to discuss, deliberate and recommend upon different levers of decarbonisation of steel sector.
Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE) has announced a National Green Mission for green hydrogen production and usage. The steel sector has also been made a stakeholder in the mission.
The steel sector has adopted the Best Available Technologies (BAT) available globally, in the modernization & expansions projects.
