The government is formulating a draft National Scrap Policy, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said Monday.
Currently, the country's requirement of scrap is around 8.3 million tonne (MT) and a large portion of the requirement is met through imports, he said.
"A National Scrap Policy is being drafted which will be ready in a few months. This will make available nearly 7 MT scrap in the country. Steel produced out of scrap is of good quality and is environment friendly," the minister said.
The government is also planning to set up scrap-based steel plants in north and west parts of India to augment the country's production capacity, Singh had earlier said.
Stressing that the scrap-based steel plants are environment-friendly, energy-efficient and cost effective, he said these plants would be on the lines of 'melt and manufacture' steel technology used in the US.
"I would like you to deliberate on the cost-benefit analysis of setting up scrap-based steel plants in north and west India. These regions are important from the perspective of scrap-availability and steel import hubs. The plants will have the capability to produce special high-grade steels, a pre-requisite for 'Make in Steel'," he had said.
He had also said India imports around six million tonne of scrap steel every year and is the second-largest importer of scrap after Turkey, adding that by 2025, the country will be able to generate 7.5 million tonne of scrap every year.