Kulaste also cautioned the steel industry about the challenges from substitutes
India has exported a record 13.5 million tonnes of products out of 113.6 million tonnes of finished steel produced in 2021-22, Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste said at an industry event on 20 May 2022.
The country’s crude steel production was estimated at 120 million tonnes while per capital consumption of steel grew by 10% to 77kg in 2021-22, he told delegates at a conference on ‘Indian Metal Industry: Current Outlook and Future Trends’. It was organized by ASSOCHAM.
India produced 118 million tonnes of crude steel in 2020-21.
The Minister apprised and reassured that Central Government is continuously interacting with various state governments to ease the process of implementation of various projects for the benefit of the country.
“The focus of our government is to lay major emphasis on development of infrastructure across the country with a self-reliant India,” he said.
The infrastructure and construction sector consumes over 65% of finished steel while the balance is used by engineering, packaging and automotive sectors.
Due to strong linkages with other sectors like construction, oil & gas, automobile and machinery, the steel demand is increasing continuously, driven by new developments in these sectors.
“Our government has initiated many projects such as National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP), Sagarmala Project, Dedicated Freight Corridor, PM Gati Shakti Master Plan to reduce the cost incurred on logistics cost.”
India’s logistics cost at present is about 13-14% as compared to 7-8% of GDP in developed countries.
The completion of these projects will save time in freight transportation, as well as reduce logistics cost, thereby reducing the cost for the industry and making quality products available to the customers at affordable prices.
Kulaste also cautioned the steel Industry about the challenges from substitutes and cheaper alternatives such as composites materials which will rise with time.
“Therefore, it is important to reduce cost by introduction of technology and smart working,” he stressed. fiinews.com
