The Indian steel industry was likely to grow at six per cent this year, said B Muthuraman, managing director, Tata Steel.
In 2008-09, the growth was 10 per cent. For the non-ferrous sector, it was in the double digits, with zinc recording a 10 per cent growth and aluminium 20-25 per cent, according to The Indian Institute of Metals (IIM) figures.
Muthuraman pointed out that the growth was despite the global economic meltdown. He backed the growth story in Indian steel by citing the low per capita consumption in the country. In the US per capita consumption of steel is 400kg, 1,000kg in Singapore while in India it was 50kg.
However, while the sector was growing at a significant pace, there were only 30 institutions to cater to the manpower demands. Around 1,100 metallurgists are churned out each year by 30 institutions compared 4.5 lakh mechanical engineers. The IIM has recently submitted a report on the issue to the government.
Sanak Mishra, chief executive officer, India Greenfield projects, ArcelorMittal and the new president of the institute said that one of the prime initiatives of IIM for the year would be to increase dialogue with the government and industry for developing a strong workforce in India.
The institute’s BESU and Kolkata chapters in association with Burnpur, Bokaro, Bhubaneswar, Durgapur, Ghatsila, Ishapore, Jamshedpur, Kharagpur and Ranchi chapters would be organizing the 47th National Metallurgists’ Day, 63rd Annual Technical Meeting and International Symposium on Emerging Challenges for Metals and Materials : Engineering and Technology, from November 14 to 17, 2009 in Kolkata.
