Friday, 17 May, 2024
By: Yash Gupte
Apart from providing a boost to the production of steel in the country, the government is also promoting the production of green steel. Image Source: IANS
In October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had marked that India has set a target of nearly doubling the production of steel from 154 MT to 300 MT within the next decade.
India has been eyeing to boost its steel production for a long period of time. Currently, India is the second largest producer of steel in the world after China. The government aims to double the country's annual crude steel making capacity to 300 MT from 150 MT at present. The government removed the export tariff on steel products and extended the export benefits under the Remission of Duties and Taxes on Exported Products (RoDTEP) scheme to products made of iron and steel for a set amount of time in 2022 as part of a variety of initiatives to help the steel sector.
According to a report by Steel Mint India, the country’s steel production rose by around 5 percent to 10.34 MT in November 2022. It said that though the government has taken a number of initiatives in order to provide a boost to the steel sector, the imports of finished steel almost doubled to 0.60 MT from 0.31 MT while the exports dropped by 53 percent from May to November 2022. The decision to impose a 15 percent export tax on some steel items had slowed down demand internationally. India's crude steel production would have nearly reached 130 MT in 2022 with a far greater level of exports if there had been no export tax.
In October 2022, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had marked that India has set a target of nearly doubling the production of steel from 154 MT to 300 MT within the next decade. He said that a boost to steel sector and rapid increase in steel production while pave the way for country in becoming Aatmanirbhar and he also added that a strong steel sector will lead to a robust infrastructure sector as it has a significant contribution in roads, railways, airport, ports, construction, automotive, capital goods, and engineering products. The government is actively working to establish the required policy environment for the growth of the steel sector, PM Modi continued, noting that India is rapidly advancing towards becoming the largest manufacturing hub in the world.
As per available data, the number of steel plants producing crude steel in the country were 901 in 2021-22 with a total capacity of 154.06 MT. The chart below shows the production of steel in India in last five years.
Source: Ministry of Steel
The production of steel in 2018-19 was recorded at 110.92 MT. The production had dropped to 103.54 MT in 2020-21. The reason behind the drop can be attributed to the pandemic which brought the whole nation to a standstill as nationwide lockdowns were imposed to contain the spread of COVID-19. Among the states, Odisha is the largest producer of steel followed by Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. Odisha produced 23.24 MT of steel in 2021-22. Jharkhand accounted for a total production of 17.09 MT followed by Chhattisgarh (14.90 MT). More than 80 percent of the country’s reserves are in the states of Odisha, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Chhattisgarh and the northern regions of Andhra Pradesh. Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), Durgapur (West Bengal), Burnpur (West Bengal), Jamshedpur (Jharkhand), Rourkela (Odisha), Bokaro (Jharkhand) are some of the important steel producing centres in India.
As per the data released by World Steel Association on April 22, 2022, India was the only country among top 10 steel producing nations of the world, which had registered growth in steel production in January to March 2022 period, as compared to corresponding period last year.
Apart from providing a boost to the production of steel in the country, the government is also promoting the production of green steel. Narendra Modi had marked that, “On one hand India is expanding its capacity to produce crude steel and on the other, it is also promoting the use of environment friendly technologies. Today, India is emphasising on developing such production technologies which not only reduce carbon emissions but also capture and reuse carbon.” he said lauding Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS) India for its emphasis on use of green technology at the foundation stone laying ceremony for the expansion of AM/NS Hazira steel manufacturing facility in Gujarat.
In fact, according to an NITI Aayog assessment, India will become the world's primary producer of green steel by 2030, paving the way for its widespread use. Older processes like an integrated blast furnace/basic oxygen furnace (BF/BOF) or an electric arc furnace (EAF) that required coal to create steel are being replaced by modern technologies like DRI or sponge iron and gas turbine generators. The steel industry will gradually integrate artificial intelligence (AI), industrial IoT, AR/VR, and machine learning, among other technologies, into routine processes of smart production with an emphasis on the fourth industrial revolution, or Industry 4.0.
Green steel production involves producing steel without using fossil fuels. In place of the conventional carbon-intensive manufacturing method involving coal-fired facilities, this can be accomplished by employing low-carbon energy sources like electricity, hydrogen, or coal gasification. In the end, it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, decreases expenses, and raises steel quality. In order to transition to "Green Steel, Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Project was launched by the Petroleum and Natural Gas Ministry in Eastern India in 2019 to provide gas to all steel plants located in the region.
