India Targets 600 MT Steel Capacity by 2047, New National Steel Policy Soon

India will soon put its new National Steel Policy in the public domain for stakeholder consultation with the government targeting steelmaking capacity of 600 million metric tonnes by 2047, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said on Tuesday. Speaking to reporters, Poundrik said that we are going to bring National Steel Policy for public consultation very soon. He added that this national steel policy is being formulated with a vision to bring India to Viksit Bharat target in 2047. The policy is expected to be put up for public consultation and comments from stakeholders in about a week, according to him.

The proposed policy includes measures to discourage cheap and sub-standard steel imports, including through trade measures such as safeguard and anti-dumping duties, Poundrik said. It will also outline measures to improve the competitiveness of smaller steel producers, particularly in terms of technology and pricing.

The government has been working on a revamped steel policy that is expected to include production targets for green steel, speciality steel and stainless steel for 2035 and 2047. Earlier in the year, the government said that India's crude steelmaking capacity currently stands at around 222 million tonnes per annum, keeping the industry on track to meet the National Steel Policy target of 300 million tonnes per annum by 2030.

During April-July of the current financial year, finished steel production rose 4 per cent year-on-year to 54.3 million tonnes from 52.2 million tonnes a year earlier, according to Ministry of Steel data. Finished steel consumption increased 7.8 per cent to 55.9 million tonnes during the period from 51.9 million tonnes a year earlier, supported by demand from infrastructure projects in sectors including highways, railways and ports. Steel exports rose 35 per cent to 2.29 million tonnes during April-July from 1.70 million tonnes in the year-ago period. In value terms, exports increased 29.4 per cent to Rs 18,105.4 crore. Crude steel production rose 2.6 per cent to 56.3 million tonnes during April-July from 54.9 million tonnes a year earlier.

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