Over 300 new steel units including MSMEs set up in last 5 years: Govt

India’s National Steel Policy implemented in 2017 to increase the country’s steel production capacity to 300 MT by 2030 by enhancing domestic per capita consumption to 160 kg by 2030 has set up 305 steel units including MSMEs in the last five years. 

With 68 new steel units, Gujarat topped the tally for the highest number of units set up since 2017 under the steel policy followed by 33 in Chhattisgarh, 32 in Punjab, 23 in Tamil Nadu, 22 in Maharashtra and 21 in West Bengal, according to the data from the steel ministry. 

As of FY24, India’s total crude steel capacity had reached 179 MT while demand/production was 144 MT. The total finished steel demand/production was 138 MT and per capita finished steel consumption stood at 97.7 kg. The projected consumption for the year 2030-31 is 158 kg. 

Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy in December 2024 had said that the government is considering imposing a 25 per cent safeguard duty on certain steel product imports, as per a PTI report. However, this has raised concerns among exporters. 

Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) Director General Ajay Sahai said that the government needs to ensure that the domestic steel companies don’t hike the input prices as it would impact exports of value-added steel products. 

Meanwhile, India’s iron and steel imports had dropped by 28 per cent in November to $1.7 billion vis-a-vis $2.4 billion last year.

To boost the domestic steel sector, the government has implemented the Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) Policy for promoting Made in India steel for government procurement. 

It has also implemented the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel to promote the manufacturing of speciality steel and reduce imports by attracting capital investments.  

The expected additional investment under the scheme for specialty steel is Rs 27,106 crores with downstream capacity creation of around 24 MT for specialty steel.