India's steel production will cross 300 million tonnes by 2030, Steel Secretary expressed possibility

A senior central government official on Saturday claimed that domestic production of steel is likely to cross 300 million tonnes by 2030. Steel Secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha said that the ministry does not see any obstacle in capacity expansion due to efforts to reduce carbon emissions in the steel sector and will soon release a draft roadmap seeking public opinion to reduce carbon emissions in the steel sector.

He said, 'The current demand for steel remains strong with the government's push to infrastructure and an expected growth of around 10 percent.' Addressing the members of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC), Sinha said, 'GDP is also growing strongly and with continued emphasis on infrastructure from both the government and private sectors, the demand for steel will remain strong.'

"Provisional finished steel production for 2023-24 was 138.5 mt, up 12.4 percent y-o-y. A CAGR of 12 percent would be needed to reach the installed capacity of 300 mt », he said. Khaitan said steel production in the first four months of 2024 was 49.5 million tonnes, showing an increase of 8.5 percent. Singla also pointed out, "A few steelmakers are not reporting their production and sales figures correctly and the ministry feels some gap between their figures and reality. He has urged the companies to report correctly in turn to serve the policy-making correctly.

Some other complaints of steelmakers include iron ore shortage, cheap imports, and policy shortages. They strongly raised iron ore shortages in Eastern India and suggested the way forward to address the 53-million-ton iron ore shortage in the Indian steel industry.

Asked about steel import concerns from the industry, Sinha said imports in volume are only 5 percent of consumption, but there are complaints about hot-rolled coils from Vietnam, which have been taken up by the Directorate General of Trade Remedies under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry. Regarding the roadmap for decarbonization, Sinha said the government has set up 14 task forces on it and the report will be released soon for public feedback after inter-ministerial discussions. The roadmap focuses on increased use of hydrogen and carbon capture in the steel industry. The short-term target for the government is to target a reduction in carbon intensity by about 20 percent. Currently, the average carbon intensity is 2.5 tonnes per tonne of steel produced.

The steel secretary informed that a consortium has been planned with laboratories, IITs, primary and secondary steel makers and equipment manufacturers to develop indigenous green technology. Sinha said the steel ministry has written to the finance ministry to maintain support for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd in times of crisis so that it does not lose its valuation.