Indian Steel Production

At small and medium-sized mills, which account for 41 per cent of India's total steel output and employ more than 1.5 million people, capacity utilisation has dropped by nearly a third over the past

India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, became a net importer of the alloy in the fiscal year to March 31, 2024 and the trend has continued since, with imports rising steadily

Over 10,000 steel user units are facing a crisis due to prolonged port delays and burdensome regulatory requirements, and the government should look at streamlining import processes and digitise systems to help the sector, think tank GTRI said on Monday. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) also said that policies aimed at protecting domestic steelmakers, including import restrictions and quality control measures, have unintentionally penalised industries dependent on imported steel. Over 10,000 units are struggling with operational and financial challenges, threatening their production and export capabilities, it added. It also said that Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) need careful scrutiny as some FTAs allow Indian firms to partner with foreign producers and re-import steel at concessional rates, raising concerns about competition. "Port delays and red tape are choking India's steel user industries. Over 10,000 steel user units face financial strain due to delays at ports and

India, world's 2nd biggest crude steel producer, became a net importer of the alloy in the fiscal year to Mar 31, 2024, and the trend has continued since then, with imports from China rising steadily

Increased imports from China and Vietnam into India, alongside Chinese supply in overseas markets, have made Indian exports uncompetitive in many regions, putting downward pressure on domestic prices

The state-run SAIL has continued to buy steelmaking coking coal from Russia at 75,000 tons per ship

The government is working on a policy for low grade iron ore beneficiation, a move that will increase the usage of iron ore with less iron content in steel production. Speaking to PTI, Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha said the Ministry of Steel along with the Ministry of Mines and the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change of India is working on the policy. When asked about the timeline, he said the policy on the beneficiation of low grade iron ore is expected to be completed within three months' time. "There may be some concessions on the royalty (on production of fines in the policy)," Sinha said without elaborating further. While lump ore or high-grade iron ore contains 65.53 per cent Fe (iron), fines are inferior grade ore and have 64 per cent and less Fe content. The use of iron ore with less iron content needs beneficiation which adds to the cost of steel production. Earlier, Union Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia had asked the domestic steel industry to a

The world's second-biggest crude steel producer remains a bright spot globally with robust demand from its construction and automotive sectors

With most large steel-consuming hubs globally facing subpar economic activities in the near term, global steel trade flows have been increasingly redirected to high-growth markets like India

S&P Global Ratings on Wednesday said it is expecting a significant fall in rates of metallurgical coal and Indian steel makers are to benefit from the price correction. "We expect lower seaborne met coal prices will help Indian steel mills, as they import 70 per cent of their total requirement," S&P Global Ratings credit analyst Anshuman Bharati said. The agency estimates that a sharp fall in seaborne metallurgical coal prices will improve cash flow and ease pressure on Indian steel producers, he said. "Our price assumptions are much lower than the average price of USD 370/tonne in 2022 and spot price of about USD 300/tonne. This is partly because we expect the supply constraints in Australia to ease over the next few months as adverse weather becomes less frequent," Bharati said. Indian steel producers are generally the most sensitive to seaborne met coal prices, as opposed to iron ore prices. This reflects India's status as the world's top importer of met coal and the fact .

Prices have plummeted some 29% in domestic market after peaking in April

India's crude steel output rose by about 5 per cent to 10.34 million tonne (MT) in November 2022, according to SteelMint India. As per the research firm, the top six steel makers -- SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL, AMNS India and RINL -- produced 6.28 MT steel and the rest 4.06 MT came from the secondary sector. The country had produced 9.88 MT of steel during the same month of 2021, the SteelMint data showed. In November 2021, large producers jointly manufactured 6.09 MT steel, while the secondary industry produced 3.79 MT, it added. The production of finished steel rose 3.41 per cent to 9.55 MT from 9.23 MT in November last year. The consumption of the alloy surged 13.42 per cent to 9.66 MT in November against 8.52 MT a year ago. According to SteelMint, the imports of finished steel during the month almost doubled to 0.60 MT from 0.31 MT, while its exports fell 53 per cent to 0.34 MT against 0.72 MT in the year-ago period.

'Move would also drive synergies' and increase value for shareholders, says company

Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia emphasised on the need to promote domestically produced steel or 'Made In India' steel, as self-reliance in its production was a top priority.

India produced 120 million tonne (MT) of crude steel during financial year ended March 31, 2022, Steel Minister Ram Chandra Prasad Singh has said. At 120 MT, the output was about 18 per cent higher compared to the country's production in the preceding fiscal year. According to official data, India produced around 102 MT steel in 2020-21. "Steel sector in India has traversed a fascinating journey from a mere 1 MT at the time of independence to 120 MT in the last (2021-22) financial year," a steel ministry statement quoted Singh as saying at National Metallurgist Award 2021 on Wednesday. The award has been instituted to recognize contributions of metallurgists working in the field of iron and steel. The areas covered in the award are manufacturing, research and development (R&D), design, education, waste management, energy conservation and their specific contribution to achieve objectives of the government's Aatmanirbhar Bharat mission. In his address, Singh further said steel ...

JSW Steel on Thursday reported crude steel production of 4.08 million tonnes in the third quarter (October to December), marking a growth of 6 per cent quarter-on-quarter and 2 per cent year-on-year.

Demerger of Nagarnar plant could create generate funds for the centre but the state's government is likely to read it as a step toward privatisation.

Aditya, son of steel baron LN Mittal, said that operations at ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India's (formerly Essar Steel) Hazira plant in Gujarat are running at full capacity

Companies better placed to ride out slowdown now, than in previous downturn of 2016

Though the exact figure for semi-finished exports to China is not known, steel producers say a bulk would have gone to China.