Page 3 - Steel Sector

SAIL plans to expand capacity by 15 million tonnes in phase 1: Chairman

State-owned steel maker SAIL has started working on plans to expand its installed capacity by 15 million tonnes (MT) in the first phase, the company's Chairman Amarendu Prakash said. Its current installed steel-making capacity is about 20 million tonnes per annum (MTPA), Prakash said. "It has been kicked off. In the first phase, we are expanding it to 35 MT. So, phase 1 is of 15 MT," the chairman said in a reply to a question on SAIL's expansion plans. On the timeline and investment amount involved in the expansion plan, he said the company is actively working on detailed project reports (DPRs) and sharing any number will be a difficult task at present. When asked about the funding model, Prakash said SAIL will use its own funds and also seek market support to fund the expansion. "It (the funding) will be a mix of both internal accruals and market. The steel industry is a huge capex-intensive industry. So, we will be in the market for funds," he noted. The company will not only e

Govt looking into dumping issue of certain steel products: Steel Secy

The government is looking into issues surrounding dumping of certain categories of steel products into the Indian market, Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha said on Tuesday. The statement comes amid the industry raising concerns over the rise in steel imports. In October India remained the net importer of steel. The Ministry of Finance is looking at dumping issues of certain categories of steel products and will take a final call on the anti-dumping duty, Sinha told reporters at the '4rth ISA Steel Conclave' event here. According to SteelMint India, the country's steel imports were higher at 0.46 Million Tonnes (MT) in October, compared to 0.24 MT exports. On coking coal supplies, the official said the government is making efforts to secure coking coal through alternate sources and is in talks with Russia and Mongolia for supply of the steel-making raw material. India is the largest importer of metallurgical coal, which includes Pulverised Coal Injection (PCI) with annual inboun

Steel expansion plans threatened by scrap metal export restrictions

The country's consumption of ferrous scrap metal will jump 50% to 60 million tons by the end of the decade, and imports will double to about 20 million tons, it estimates

India to see 'healthy growth' in steel demand at 8.6% in 2023: Worldsteel

The demand for steel in India is expected to register a 'healthy growth' of 8.6 per cent against the overall global rise of 1.8 per cent in 2023, worldsteel said on Tuesday. It forecasts that global steel demand will grow 1.8 per cent in 2023 and reach 1,814.5 MT after having contracted by 3.3 per cent in 2022. In 2024, the demand will see an increase of 1.9 per cent to 1,849.1 MT, the World Steel Association (worldsteel) said. For India, the global body said, "after a growth of 9.3 per cent in 2022, steel demand is expected to show healthy growth of 8.6 per cent in 2023 and 7.7 per cent in 2024." The Indian economy remains stable against the pressure of high interest rate environment, and the steel demand is expected to continue its high growth momentum. Growth in India's construction sector is driven by government spending on infrastructure and recovery in private investment. Infrastructure investment will also support the capital goods sector growth, worldsteel said in its Shor

Hotels to steel: India Inc unlocks subsidiaries' value with mergers, splits

Combined value of deals reaches $32.9 bn in Q3 CY2023, the highest quarterly total since Q2 CY2022

Crude steel output grows to 70 MT in Apr-Sep; trend to continue: SteelMint

India's crude steel production rose 14.7 per cent to 69.65 million tonne (MT) during April-September period of 2023-24 fiscal year, according to SteelMint India. The steel output in the year-ago period was 61.06 MT, the market research firm said. The increase in production was mainly on account of improved capacity utilisation rates coupled with the ramping up of capacities by key Indian steel players, it said. According to SteelMint, these factors will continue to support the growth in production in the second half of the ongoing fiscal as well. The domestic consumption of finished steel also rose 14.77 per cent to 63.99 MT from 55.75 MT in the six-month period a year ago. During the period, the country saw exports shrinking 10.25 per cent to 3.23 MT from 3.60 MT in April-September 2022-23. The inbound shipment rose to 2.90 MT from 2.56 MT in the year-ago period, registering a year-on-year rise of 13.33 per cent. The collective production of top six players namely Tata Steel, J

Steel output grows 5% in Jan-Jun; trend to continue in 2nd half: SteelMint

India has produced 66.14 MT crude steel in January-June 2023, registering a 5 per cent year-on-year growth and the uptrend is likely to continue in second half of the year as well, according to SteelMint. The domestic industry had produced 63 million tonnes (MT) crude steel in the January-June period of 2022, the research firm said. The increase in production was mainly on account of improved capacity utilisation rates coupled with the ramping up of capacities by key Indian steel players, it said. According to SteelMint these factors will continue to support the growth in production in the second half of the ongoing year, SteelMint added. The domestic steel consumption also registered an 11 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) increase to 58.4 MT in the first half of 2023, from 52.7 MT in the same period of 2022. Steel exports took a hit of 30 per cent during the period under review, as China increased its outbound shipments of steel. "India's steel exports dropped to 4.74 MT in H1 from

MSMEs in steel sector get an India build-out lift: CRISIL SME Tracker

MSMEs in the steel sector mostly manufacture long steel products such as rebars and wire rods using induction-based furnaces and raw materials such as steel scrap and sponge iron

India seen as bright spot as China's gloom weighs on steel demand

"India is, I think, the shining light on the horizon," Thompson said. That marks a contrast with China, where the impact of recent stimulus measures are struggling to gain traction, he said

JSW Steel Q1FY24 results: Net profit rises 189%, revenue jumps 10.3%

The company's profit in the June quarter was, however, lower than Rs 3,741 crore in the previous quarter

Indian traders scoop up cheaper Chinese steel, says industry execs

Indian traders are buying the grades used in automobiles and construction, main drivers of domestic steel demand, the officials and analysts said

Steel Ministry directs stakeholders to develop R&D roadmap for steel sector

Steel Ministry on Thursday directed the stakeholders of the steel sector to develop a comprehensive medium-term research and development (R&D) roadmap for the domestic industry. A meeting in this regard was chaired by Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha, the Ministry of Steel said in a statement. "A brainstorming meeting was held...to evolve a comprehensive medium-term R&D roadmap and action plan for the Iron & steel sector for the next ten years," it said. Stakeholders from the steel industry, academia, research laboratories, design & engineering companies participated in the meeting. The areas identified for carrying out research were beneficiation of iron ore, beneficiation of coal, carbon capture, utilisation of steel industry wastes such as steel slag, decarbonisation technologies, use of bio-char to substitute coke/ coal in some areas of iron & steel making, it said.

State-owned steel firms clear Rs 7,673.95-cr dues to MSMEs in FY23: Govt

Government-owned steel companies have cleared Rs 7,673.95 crore dues of various MSMEs during FY23, 39.3 per cent higher than Rs 5,511.07 crore paid during the preceding fiscal, the steel ministry said. "The status of pending payments to MSMEs by CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) of the ministry is being monitored on a weekly basis to ensure payments to them within the 45 days' time limit for such payments," it said. A payment of Rs 876.10 crore was made by steel CPSEs to Micro, Small & Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) during March 2023, up 38.1 per cent year-on-year (y-o-y) and 23.1 per cent higher than the previous month, the ministry said. During the entire financial year 2022-23, steel CPSEs have made a payment of Rs 7,673.95 crore to MSMEs, which is 39.3 per cent higher than Rs 5,511.07 crore payment made during FY 2021-22. CPSEs under the administrative control of the steel ministry include SAIL, NMDC, RINL, KIOCL, MOIL, MECON, MSTC and its subsidiary FSNL.

Missing female scientists and reforming the creaking policy machine

From fiscal policy to fixing India's steel frame, here is a summary of book reviews from the pages of Business Standard this week

Tata Steel slips into red; posts Rs 2,501 cr loss in Q3 on higher expenses

Steel major Tata Steel on Monday reported a consolidated net loss of Rs 2,501.95 crore in the quarter ended on December 31, 2022, on account of higher expenses. The company had posted a net profit of Rs 9,598.16 crore in the year-ago period, according to a regulatory filing. Total income on a consolidated basis fell to Rs 57,354.16 crore in the October-December quarter from Rs 60,842.72 crore earlier. The company's expenses rose to Rs 57,172.02 crore in the quarter under review from Rs 48,666.02 crore in the year-ago period. Tata Steel Group is among the top global steel companies with an annual capacity of 34 MT.

Marginal growth in demand expected in 2023: JSW Steel's Seshagiri Rao

The world economy is not growing in a robust manner so I don't expect a big turnaround in steel demand as seen in 2021, says Rao

Prez Murmu to inaugurate MIDHANI's wide plate mill in Hyderabad on Tuesday

President Droupadi Murmu will on Tuesday inaugurate a wide plate mill of state-owned special steel manufacturer MIDHANI in Hyderabad. In a regulatory filing on Monday, Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) said the plate mill was installed at its existing facility in Hyderabad at an investment of around Rs 500 crore for rolling of slabs of various alloys. "The wide plate mill will be inaugurated by President of India, Droupadi Murmu on December 27, 2022, in the presence of eminent dignitaries and distinguished guests," the filing said. The wide plate mill facility will meet the requirements of special steel plates for national strategic programmes and also facilitate import substitutes. "Due to its very high capacity of rolling force, this mill can roll ultra-high strength steel to very low thickness. Technology for processing of superalloys plates has been established in a very short span of time," the company said. MIDHANI, under the Ministry of Defence, is among the few modern .

More initiatives on anvil to boost steel sector in 2023: Union Minister

With increasing steel production in the country, the focus in 2023 will be on boosting raw material supplies and producing more special grade steel, according to Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste. India produced 113.43 million tonne of crude steel in January-November 2022, which is 10 per cent higher compared to the year-ago period. The government aims to double the country's annual crude steel making capacity to 300 MT from 150 MT at present. In an interview to PTI, Kulaste, the Minister of State for Steel, said more initiatives for the sector will be taken in 2023. Last year, the government introduced the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel to enhance the production of the high-end alloy. Special grade steel is used in various sectors, including power, shipping, railways and auto. The demand for this steel is being met through imports. "Our focus will also be on taking measures to support industry besides finding new markets as the production of steel

This SME company stock has zoomed 519% in 3 months; declares bonus, split

Rhetan TMT's board has approved stock split from Rs 10 to Re 1 and also approved issue of 11 bonus shares for every 4 equity shares held by the equtiy shareholders as on 'Record Date'.

JSPL sees 'very good reason' to consider RINL, NMDC: MD Bimlendra Jha

State-owned companies marked out for divestment are attractive assets, he says in interview