The Hindu Business Line : Govt to formulate steel policy soon; aims at boosting exports

"The national steel policy is almost ready. It envisages good demand for steel and considerable increase in consumption in the next 20 years," the Union Steel Minister, Mr B.K. Tripathy, said.

The Ministry has already circulated various drafts and is holding deliberations with stakeholders.

The policy is expected to be ready by the end of the year, Mr Tripathy said, addressing the annual general meeting of the All-India Induction Furnace Association.

One of the key factors in steel production is energy and the industry should make efforts to use better technology and processes to cut down on fuel costs, he said, adding that the domestic steel industry should use more sponge iron to supplement import of scrap steel.

"While the price of steel melting scrap has gone up, the domestic availability of sponge iron has increased considerably. The tremendous growth of sponge iron industry in the country will add to the growth of the electric steel industry and value-added items," the Minister said.

At its level, the Ministry had taken up with the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) and State Governments to rationalise power tariffs for steel producers, Mr Tripathy said.

Benchmarking India against China, he said that while it may not be possible to match it with regard to steel consumption and production, the Government will look into all factors that would increase domestic consumption.

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