Self-reliance push to steel

Key opportunities and challenges Sumit Maitra

- Sumit Maitra

India has firmly placed itself in the second position among world’s leading steel manufacturers.

Yet, it consumes just 74 kilograms of steel per head as per 2019 Worldsteel data, hovering at the bottom rung of the ladder with global average of 224.5 kgs.

China consumes 633 kgs. Japan, whom India displaced from the second position in the producers’ list, uses 498 kgs a year. Austria with 444.5 kgs, ranks first.

The prosperity and progress of a nation, with steel as a justifiable barometer, can be gauged not with the volume of a material that the country churns out but the amount each of its citizen consumes.

On that parameter, India needs some urgent catching up to do.

One of the first things that the Central government did after recovering from the initial blow of the pandemic was to focus on how to raise steel consumption in our country.

A series of virtual events were conducted with participation from leading corporates in the steel sector and their key executives.

Alongside, roadmap for a comprehensive steel sector policy was indicated which would be finalised following consultation with a leading global consultant. For that a selection process is on.

Boosting domestic steel consumption goes hand in hand with steps to turn self-reliant on domestic availability of items of consumables.

The pandemic has shown the extent our import-dependent automobile industry suffered when its Chinese supply chain snapped.

But turning Atmanirbhar can be achieved only when we face up to the challenges including lack of scale, high costs of logistics, bureaucratic red tapes, to name a few.

Here we look at some of the key opportunities and hurdles.

Housing