100m tonne steel output by 2020

The draft steel policy of India says the nation may produce 100 million tonnes of steel by 2020.

The policy also focuses on value addition to the iron ore available in the country and address various problems faced by the industry including access to inputs like iron ore and coal, whose have soared in last couple of months and transportation and shipping of the raw material and finished products.

The policy is now being given a final shape by taking opinion of various stakeholders of the industry and will be ready for implementation in couple of months, said SY Quraishi, additional secretary and financial advisor to the Union steel ministry.

Quraishi, who is on a trip to Orissa to address a national workshop on stainless steel fabrication at Puri, said that the working group has projected the demand of steel at 38 million tonnes by 2006-07 and 52 million tonnes by 2011-12. Infact, many of the steel giants in the world have doubled their production in five years.

"Going by their example, we should produce over 200 million tonnes of steel by 2020. Let us hope that we will overcome all constraints and threats and achieve at least the 100 million tonnes target by 2020", he said.

Close on the heels of China, there is a massive upswing in the construction and manufacturing business in India resulting in increased production, consumption and export of steel. Till February end, 2004, the finished steel production had crossed 32.7 million tonnes registering a growth of 7 per cent.

"We are hopeful that the country will achieve the targeted production of 35 million tonnes during this financial year", he said, adding, already several steel producers have been planning additional steel capacities both in the short term and long term prospective.

Stating that the iron and steel industry is gradually shifting to the Asian continent, he said, in 2003 Asia recorded two-digit rate of growth at 12 per cent with China, Japan, South Korea and India accounting for major portion of this growth.

With vast reserves of iron ore, human resources and the growing domestic demand, India will be in an advantageous position to exploit this opportunity in the field of iron and steel production.

Quraishi said, the growth in iron and steel is not limited to carbon steel alone but also is equally applicable to stainless steel.

The world production and consumption of stainless steel is growing with an average annual growth rate of 5 to 6 per cent and in 2003, the production touched 22.8 million tonnes registering a growth of over 10 per cent over the production in 2002.

Similarly, Indian stainless steel production has also grown from 5.6 lakh tonnes in 1997-98 to 11.5 lakh tonnes in 2002-03 catapulting the country to the elite million tonnes club. It is projected that in the next four to five years, Indian stainless steel production will cross the 2 million tonnes mark.

The steel ministry official pointed out that several small and medium scale units are already adding capacities by way of expansion or green field plants, especially noteworthy among them being the proposed 8 lakh tpa stainless steel project of Jindal Stainless Ltd in Orissa.

In India, the kitchenware sector accounts for 70 to 75 per cent of the total stainless steel consumption. The boost comes from the large-scale export of kitchenware from India to all countries including Europe, USA and China.

Stating that the usage of stainless steel in industrial and other sectors in India is on the rise, Quraishi said the key drivers of growth are the construction and transportation sectors, especially the railways.