The Steel Ministry has said the country is poised to become the second-largest crude steel producer in the world by 2015 with major investment plans in the sector.
"With a production of 46.77 million tonnes (MT) crude steel during the January-October 2009 period, the country has emerged as the fourth-largest steel producer in the world and is expected to become the second-largest producer in the world by 2015," Steel Ministry said in a statement today.
The country is likely to achieve a crude steel production capacity of 124 MT by 2012, it said.
The ministry also said as many as 222 memoranda of understandings have been signed with various states, mostly Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Orissa and West Bengal. These projects would create an additional capacity of 276 MT.
The statement said going by the existing growth trends, the National Steel Policy estimates of an annual steel consumption growth of seven per cent, based on a GDP growth rate of 7-7.5 per cent and a 110-MT crude steel production by 2019-20, are likely to be exceeded.
"In the next five years, demand will grow at a higher annual average rate of over 10 per cent compared to around 7 per cent growth achieved between 1991-92 and 2005-06," the statement said.
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Finished steel production was at 38.96 MT during April-November of this fiscal as against 38.02 MT in the corresponding period of 2007-08, a growth of 2.5 per cent.
Finished steel export was at 1.81 MT during the April-November period as against 2.952 MT in the corresponding period last fiscal while import of finished steel was at 4.59 MT during the reporting period as against 4.134 MT in corresponding period of 2007-08, a growth of 11 per cent.
Consumption of total finished steel was at 34.304 MT during April-November, 2009 as against 33.995 MT in corresponding period of 2007-08.