Steel makers prune R&D expenses even as imports rise

Expenditure on R&D by domestic steel producers fell by almost 10 per cent last fiscal although imports of the metal are on the rise.
During FY 2013-14, the total investment made by the domestic biggies in research and development stood at Rs 313 crore, compared to Rs 346 crore in the previous year, official sources said.
Barring Rashtriya Ispat and Tata Steel, none of the major producers, which include SAIL, JSW, JSPL and Essar Steel, raised their R&D expenses.
Rashtriya Ispat's investment on R&D during 2013-14 went up to Rs 50.27 crore as compared to Rs 31.13 crore a year earlier. Similarly, Tata Steel enhanced its expenditure to Rs 80.51 crore from Rs 59.73 crore.

State-run Steel Authority of India's expenditure fell to Rs 121 crore during the period as against Rs 156 crore a year earlier. JSW Steel cut its investment to 25.21 crore during the period as against Rs 45.87 crore of FY 2012-13.
Naveen Jindal-owned JSPL pruned its R&D investment to Rs 14.21 crore from Rs 28.57 crore while Ruias-promoted Essar Steel squeezed it to 22.65 crore from Rs 25.56 crore in 2012-13, official sources said.
Steel makers invest in R&D to upgrade technology so as to improve productivity and reduce production cost. It is necessary to remain afloat in the face of teething competition in the global arena, said an industry analyst.

India's steel imports rose by a whopping 67 per cent in the April-February period of the current fiscal to a record of 8.3 million tonnes.