India's target of producing 300 million tonnes of steel per annum by 2025 is achievable and realistic but the path is beset with many difficulties and challenges, according to experts in the steel sector. The present production is 83 million tonnes of steel.

They expressed the view here at the inaugural session of the two-day conference on "Indian steel industry - vision 2025" which began here on Thursday. It was organised by Steel and Metallurgy magazine with the support of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant and other industries in the sector.

Welcoming the gathering, Nirmalya Mukherjee, editor of the magazine, said the lack of cheap and easy finance, problems in land acquisition, power problems and raw material shortages were plaguing the sector. In West Bengal in particular land acquisition had become an almost insurmountable problem.

Visakhapatnam steel plant Chairman and Managing Director P. Madhusudan said "the target of 300 million tonnes by 2025 is realisable, but by no means easy. We need to prepare a realistic roadmap and make earnest efforts to achieve it. We have plenty of iron ore reserves, comparatively low wages, a growing market, HR resources and a strategic location for exports. These are the positives, but there are several impediments such land acquisition problems."

He commended the Government policy of curbing iron ore exports during the past few years and said the steel plants - both in the public sector as well as the private one - should invest in technology to cut down cost of production in the long run. He said the the RINL (Visakhapatnam steel plant) with its many advantages would become the biggest steel plant at a single location in future. It would enhance its capacity from the present 6.3 million tonnes to 20 million tonnes in phases.

Y. Sivasagara Rao, the former CMD of the RINL, said project execution was of the essence and cost overruns and time overruns should be avoided. "In the steel sector, more than 300 memoranda of understanding have been signed for the capacity addition of 406 million tonnes and even if half of the projects get going, the target of 300 million tonnes can easily be achieved," he added.

Manish Sarda, Director (International business), of Sarda Metals and Alloys Limited, said high grade manganese alloys should be used for cost-effective and quality steel production. He added that India was the largest exporter of such alloys but domestic steel units were not using such high grade alloys.

D.N Rao, the Director (Operations) of RINL, and Bimal K Sarkar, the MD of Stollberg India Limited, also spoke.

>sarma.rs@thehindu.co.in

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