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The 46th annual conference of the World Steel Association begun here on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the two-day meet, Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said the Government is making efforts to fuel the growth in the steel industry by providing a good investment climate to domestic and foreign steel makers.
Capacity expansion
Verma said that the steel capacity in India has increased from 66 million tonnes in 2009 to about 90 mt in 2012.
He said the capacity will increase further as steel plants in both public and private sectors have taken up expansion and modernisation programmes. “As per projection, the capacity in the country would grow to around 200 mt by 2020,” he said.
The Minister said the Government is taking steps to improve the use of steel in rural areas.
National Steel Policy
He said a National Steel Policy is being prepared to provide the vision and framework for increasing the production and consumption.
“We welcome partnerships with leading global steel makers to improve process and product technologies and are always open to new ideas,” he added.
Urban Development Minister Kamal Nath said in his address that the country has a huge infrastructure deficit.
He said the challenge before the country is developing infrastructure and this challenge will drive the steel industry in the future.
HRD and Telecom Minister Kapil Sibal said India is the best place to break the global price points. He said by 2017, the country will require about 117 mt of steel.
New panel
CEO of Severstal Alexey Mordashov has been appointed as the new Chairman of the World Steel Association. JSW Steel Ltd’s Sajjan Jindal and ArcelorMittal’s Lakshmi Mittal are in the executive committee of the association.
Jindal said sustainability is the core value of the World Steel Association. He said WSA has introduced a series of initiatives to address the sustainability challenges.
Director-General of WSA Edwin Basson said the industry continues to evolve and aims to make steel the most innovative and sustainable material of the 21st century.
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