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The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved the National Steel Policy 2017 in a bid to boost domestic production of steel. It also approved a preference policy for domestically produced steel in government tenders.
Briefing mediapersons after the Cabinet meeting, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, “We are already production surplus in Steel. The challenge is to boost consumption of steel produced in the country.”
An official statement said that the highlight of the National Steel Policy is to achieve the target of 300 million tonne steel making capacity by 2030. This will entail an additional investment of ₹10 lakh crore by 2030-2031.
The target is to increase per capita steel consumption to the level of 160 kg by 2030, from the existing level of around 60 kg.
The policy aims at self-sufficiency in steel production by providing policy support and guidance to private manufacturers, MSME steel producers and CPSEs. It also aims to develop globally competitive steel manufacturing capabilities, cost-efficient production and better domestic availability of iron ore, coking coal and natural gas.
Facilitating investment in overseas asset acquisitions of raw materials and enhancing domestic steel demand are also on the agenda of the steel policy.
Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh had told BusinessLine in February, “We are looking at coming out with a provision in government tenders to mandate using domestically manufactured steel for the grades that are available in India. The contractor can import grades of steel that are not available in the desired quantity in the country.”
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