Steel plants with scrap as raw material to come up in north and western India, says Steel Minister, Ch. Birendra Singh

Dr. Chaudhary Birender Singh, Union Minister of Steel, said that the Steel Ministry proposes to set up steel plants with scrap as the raw material in various parts of north and west India. The Ministry's expectation is that in the coming years, 44% of the total scrap available in the country would be generated in various locations in Jammu & Kashmir, Punjab, Haryana and Delhi and this would be utilised for the production of steel. In addition, 67% of scrap reaches western shores which could be used as feedstock for steel production.

The Minister said, the Government of India's efforts to recycle waste products for productive purposes would effect saving of 65% of iron ore that is currently the main raw material for steel production.

Mr. Narendra Modi, India's Prime Minister,said, Recycling is a crucial component of sustainable waste management and contributes in a significant way to the reduction of Green Houses Gases, in addition to the immense economic opportunities it brings forth.

Dr. Birendra Singh said that India's National Steel Policy 2017 has set a target of achieving 300 million tonnes of production capacity by 2030. The Government of India, he said, is adopting a 360% holistic approach wherein the recycling industry can help in achieving the production target by providing raw material for the steel industry.

The Minister expressed the hope that the pending legislation on the ban on use of 15-year old diesel vehicles in India would be taken up and passed in the winter session of Parliament. He said that according to the Steel Ministry's calculation, post the ban, the scrap market would become attractive as it would fetch 10-15% more price for metal scrap.

Mr. Ranit Baxi, President, BIR, stated that currently, India's steel production is growing by 11% annually and the country is well on its way to become the second largest global steel producer. BIR, he said, values its partnership with India and hoped that this partnership would help increase the flow of FDI and support the Government of India's 'Swach Bharat Mission' and spread the message resource conservation and recycling to the rest of the world.

Mr. Baxi said that recycling Industries continue to play a very important role continuing to produce very important source of recyclable raw materials for the global industries. Today, recycling contributes over 300 billion dollars to global economy, employment for millions, saving over 700 million tons of carbon emissions, helping to meet several of the UN 2030