Total Crude Steel Capacity To Reach 300 MT In 2030-31: Centre

On the back of a conducive policy environment and measures taken to ensure the development of the steel sector, India’s total crude steel capacity is set to touch 300 million tonne (MT) by the financial year (FY) 2030-31, according to the forecast by the National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017. The information shared by the Minister of State (MoS) for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma revealed that the total crude steel production of the country is also projected to reach 255 MT by 2030-31.

In addition, India’s total production of finished steel is also on the rise and is likely to reach 230 MT in 2030-31.

As steel is a de-regulated sector, the government acts as a facilitator for the sector’s development. The Centre introduced a production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for promoting Specialty steel manufacturing within the country, to reduce the imports. The PLI scheme for specialty steel has an estimated additional investment of Rs 29,500 crore and an additional capacity creation of 25 MT for specialty steel.

In a written reply in the Lok Sabha, the MoS stated that to make Indian steel competitive in the global market, the basic customs duty on ferro nickel has been reduced to zero from 2.5 per cent. In addition, the duty exemptions on the ferrous scrap have been extended upto 3 March 2024.

To ensure quality steel products are available to the public, the Centre has notified a quality control order (QCO) for 145 steel products under Indian standards. To improve productivity at the workplace and reduce accidents, the Ministry of Steel, on 25 July 2024, issued 16 new safety guidelines for the Iron and steel sector, the MoS pointed out.

Addressing the concerns raised by the domestic steel industry regarding the monitoring of imports, the steel import monitoring system (SIMS) has been revamped, with SIMS 2.0 being introduced on 25 July 2024, according to the information provided by the MoS.