New Delhi: The members of the Apex Committee of the Indian Steel Association met the Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel, Shri Ram Chandra Prasad Singh on 20th September 2021. The face-to-face meeting witnessed the participation of captains of steel industry including Dilip Oommen, President, ISA, & CEO, AM/NS India, Soma Mondal, Chairperson, SAIL, T.V. Narendran, CEO, Tata Steel Ltd., Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Ltd and Naveen Jindal, Chairman, JSPL, among others.
The main focus of the discussion was ‘Key Issues & Challenges of the Indian Steel Industry’. Various suggestions came up in the course of the discussion on enhancing the demand for steel, which ranged from having steel intensive structures such as crash barriers, long span road construction, fly overs, foot overbridges, use of steel in flood prone areas, use of pre-fabricated structures in rural areas, and the use of steel in gas and water pipelines for rural areas. .
Also, the various concerns of the steel industry including issues pertaining to logistics, issuance of RoDTEP for steel products to encourage exports, the PLI Scheme and the proposed National Mineral Index (NMI) were discussed.
ISA thanked the Ministry of Steel for bringing in a large basket of steel products under Quality Control Orders (QCO) from a mere 15 products in Dec 2015 to 145 products, currently. However, the members emphasised that ground level implementation, monitoring and compliance of steel Product Quality Control Orders must be bolstered to ensure quality materials reach the end-user.
The Indian Steel Association presented industry viewpoints for debottlenecking and faster rollout of various flagship government projects especially within the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP). The members also highlighted the need for speedy clearances for steelmaking capacity expansion projects in brownfield and greenfield projects. Focus of discussions also revolved around need for increased collaboration of the steel Industry with the Ministry of Steel for enhancing consumption of steel, sustainability, climate and energy, logistics, raw material security and usage of bye products.
Appreciating the support given by the Ministry of Steel, Dilip Oommen, President, Indian Steel Association and CEO, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India said, “We are grateful to Shri RCP Singh, Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel for a positive interaction, indicating the Government’s resolve to become self-reliant in steel. Speedy clearances for brown and green field steel capacity expansions are the need of the hour for India to fulfil the vision of ‘Atmanirbhar Bharat’.”
The hon’ble minister suggested that ISA’s member companies explore and present the feasibility and benefits of low cost pre-fabricated steel houses for rural areas. He also urged the steel industry to participate in the celebrations of India’s “Azaadi ka Amrut Mahotsav”.
The steel industry also assured the hon’ble minister of their continued focus on sustainable practices in future steel making and for achieving a crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (MT) in the coming decade.