Iron And Steel Industry

Steelmakers from Asia to Europe and Latin America are already reeling from a flood of cheap Chinese steel, with the nation's 2024 exports touching a nine-year high above 110 million tonnes

The government has imposed mandatory quality orders for stainless steel seamless pipes, and tubes to curb the import of sub-standard goods, boost domestic manufacturing and ensure consumer safety. A notification 'Stainless Steel Pipes and Tubes (Quality Control) Order, 2025' was issued in this regard by the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) on February 10. It will come into effect from August 1 this year. Under the order, the item cannot be produced, sold, traded, imported and stocked unless it bears the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) mark. According to the notification, this order would not apply for 500 kilograms of these goods imported for the purpose of research and development by manufacturers of stainless steel pipes and tubes per year with the condition that such imported goods and articles shall not be sold commercially and can be disposed of as scrap. Violation of the provision of the BIS Act can attract imprisonment of up to two years or a

MoS for Steel and Heavy Industries Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma said that steel is deregulated sector and decisions such as investment, production are based on techno-commercial considerations

On the bourses, Tata Steel shares closed 0.38 per cent lower at Rs 130. In comparison, BSE Sensex settled 0.43 per cent lower at 76,190.46 levels, on Friday, January 24, 2025

The rally in Jindal Stainless shares followed an upgrade by Nuvama Institutional Equities (Nuvama), which raised its rating on the stock to 'Buy' from 'Hold' and set a revised target price of Rs 836

The decision followed an investigation begun in August into the products from China, India, Japan and South Korea that started after a petition from a domestic producer

Union Minister for Heavy Industries and Steel, H D Kumaraswamy, announced on Sunday plans to revive the Sir M Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Factory in Bhadravati with an estimated investment of Rs 15,000 crore. Speaking at the 87th All India Kannada Literary Conference in Mandya, the Minister stated that this decision aligns with the Modi government's efforts to address unemployment and focus on industrial growth in Karnataka. The Minister highlighted the historical significance of the Bhadravati factory, established under Mysuru Maharaja Nalvadi Krishnaraja Wadiyar and Bharat Ratna Sir M Visvesvaraya. Once a source of employment for thousands and a livelihood for lakhs, Kumaraswamy expressed confidence that the glorious days of the steel factory would soon return. "Prime Minister Narendra Modi has entrusted me with the critical responsibilities of the Heavy Industries and Steel portfolios. I am working diligently to ensure these responsibilities benefit Karnataka," said ...

Steel is responsible for 7% of global carbon dioxide emissions, around the same as India, with coal-fired blast furnaces producing 2 metric tons of CO2 for each ton of output

Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy has said that steelmakers need to collaborate with leading institutions like Indian Institute of Science (IISc) and IITs for research to create a globally-competitive and technologically-advanced steel industry. He said India's steel sector stands as the backbone of its industrial strength and a cornerstone of nation-building. "From skyscrapers to highways, railways to defence, steel powers our progress and fuels our ambitions." Speaking on the occasion of the National Metallurgists Awards ceremony here on Wednesday, he said: "To create a globally-competitive and technologically-advanced steel industry, our steelmakers need to collaborate with leading institutions like IISc and IITs (Indian Institutes of Technology) for research." Specialty steel, Kumaraswamy said, is also a crucial sector where research and innovation is the need of the hour. The Minister said that under the leadership Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the country is on a path t

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

The share of exports was 10 per cent of total sales in Q2 FY25 compared to 13 per cent in Q2 FY24. Overall, exports in H1 FY24 had stood at 15 per cent

A BigMint analyst said China's latest economic stimulus measures provided a short-term boost to steel prices, driven by infrastructure spending and interest rate cuts

SAIL on Monday said it has signed an agreement with global resources company BHP to work on strategies for low-emission steel manufacturing technologies. Both companies signed the memorandum of understanding to support decarbonisation in steel making, the Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) said in a statement. "This collaboration is an important step for SAIL and BHP in promoting lower carbon steelmaking technology pathways for the blast furnace route in India. Under this MoU, the parties are already exploring a number of workstreams supporting the potential decarbonisation at SAIL's integrated steel plants which operate blast furnaces (BF) with an initial study to assess various strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (GHG)," it said. These workstreams will consider the role of alternate reductants such as the use of hydrogen and biochar for blast furnaces, to build local research and development capability to support the decarbonisation transition. SAIL Chairman Amarendu .

To increase the usage of available raw materials, the Ministry of Steel has directed integrated steel players to make use of iron ore fines in steel making after its beneficiation. As per sources, the ministry has also suggested that players look at options like acquiring coking coal mines abroad. This is aimed at increasing the availability of raw materials at competitive prices, they said. "It has been conveyed to them that iron reserves are limited in the country and to preserve that, players must also use low grade ore through beneficiation process. They can also look for coking coal mines outside India," the sources said. Iron ore and coking coal are the two key raw materials used for manufacturing steel through blast furnace route. While iron ore is available in abundance, for coking coal, India remains heavily dependent on imports. Major players use only high grade ore (lumps), with 65 per cent and above iron content, to make steel through BF (blast furnace). Fines are low

Proposed mandate will help steel scrap availability and in reducing emissions, they say

The power sector, which is heavily dependent on coal, may see a rise in the cost of supply by 0.6 per cent to 1.5 per cent, potentially leading to higher retail tariffs, ICRA added

The Congress on Saturday attacked the government over attempts to privatise steel plants, alleging the country's industrial base is being "suffocated" and Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy is party to it. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh cited a written reply in the Rajya Sabha by Kumaraswamy. "Yesterday in the Rajya Sabha, the Minister for Steel revealed that the Modi Government has attempted and failed to privatise 4 steel plants and is currently attempting to privatise another 2," Ramesh said on X. None of these six privatisations were necessary, he argued. "Perhaps the Government's incompetence in enacting its own decisions, however ill-founded, is a small mercy," he said. However, these PSUs are now in a state of inactivity, and will be for an indeterminate period of time, Ramesh said. "The Government will not invest in them - in fact, there is evidence that the Government is actually systematically trying to further throttle these units t

Germany's proposed Low Emission Steel Standard (LESS) is expected to pose new challenges to Indian industry which is already reeling with lower exports, higher imports and Europe's carbon tax, think tank GTRI said on Friday. India's steel exports have dropped by 31.2 per cent from USD 31.7 billion in 2021-22 to USD 21.8 billion in 2023-24, while imports have increased by 37 per cent, from USD 17.3 billion to USD 23.7 billion, making India a net importer, it said. The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said that the Indian steel industry is not legally bound to follow the new German steel standard, but ignoring it could hurt domestic exports. "Global markets are demanding low-carbon products, and Indian steel producers not aligning with LESS may struggle to compete," GTRI Founder Ajay Srivastava said. He added that India's steel industry must prepare to comply with new steel standards introduced by Germany, but may soon be adopted by other developed countries. LESS is a volunt

Steel consumption in China could even contract, according to ArcelorMittal, which lowered its 2024 forecast to a range of -1 per cent to +1 per cent

Expressing optimism in steel demand amid headwinds, a senior central government official said on Saturday that the domestic production is likely to cross 300 million tonnes by 2030. The ministry also does not foresee any hurdles in capacity addition due to decarbonisation efforts in the steel sector and will soon release a draft roadmap seeking public opinion to reduce the carbon footprint in the steel sector, which accounts for 12 per cent of total emissions, Steel Secretary Nagaendra Nath Sinha said. "The current steel demand remains strong with infrastructure push from the government and expecting a growth of about 10 per cent. The GDP is also growing robustly, and with continued emphasis on infrastructure from both government and private sectors, steel demand will continue to stay strong," Sinha said, while addressing members of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC). Finished steel output during 2023-24 was 138.5 million tonnes, up 12.4 per cent year-on-year. To achieve 300 milli