PLI Initiative for Specialty Steel Set to Draw Rs 27,106 Crore Investment
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Synopsis
The Centre's PLI Scheme for specialty steel is set to draw Rs 27,106 crore investment, creating 25 million tonnes of downstream capacity. Measures include import reduction strategies and quality controls to enhance domestic competitiveness.
Key Takeaways
- PLI Scheme expected to attract Rs 27,106 crore.
- Downstream capacity creation of 25 million tonnes.
- Focus on quality control for steel products.
- Revamped Steel Import Monitoring System.
- Countervailing duties on imports from various countries.
New Delhi, March 18 (NationPress) The Centre's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme aimed at boosting the production of specialty steel is projected to garner an additional investment of Rs 27,106 crore, facilitating the creation of downstream capacity estimated at around 25 million tonnes, as reported to Parliament on Tuesday.
Specialty steel encompasses value-added steel products that undergo processing techniques such as coating, plating, or heat treatment to fulfill specific requirements in industries including defence, space, power, and automobiles.
Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, informed the Lok Sabha that the government has implemented several strategies to reduce steel imports and bolster the competitiveness of domestic steel producers.
These initiatives entail the introduction of steel Quality Control Orders, which prohibit the sale of substandard steel products in the domestic market and imports, ensuring that quality steel is accessible to the industry, consumers, and the public.
The Steel Import Monitoring System (SIMS) has been upgraded, with SIMS 2.0 launched last July for improved import monitoring to alleviate the challenges faced by the domestic steel sector, he highlighted.
The minister also indicated that measures related to anti-dumping duties are currently in effect for specific steel products such as seamless tubes, pipes, and hollow profiles of iron, alloy, or non-alloy steel (excluding cast iron and stainless steel) from China, electro-galvanised steel from South Korea, Japan, and Singapore, as well as stainless-steel seamless tubes and pipes from China, and welded stainless steel pipes and tubes from Vietnam and Thailand.
He further noted that a Countervailing Duty has been instituted for welded stainless steel pipes and tubes originating from China and Vietnam.
The minister assured that there are ample reserves of iron ore in the country to satisfy the current demands of the domestic steel industry. The production of iron ore in FY 2024 exceeded 270 million tons, with exports around 46 million tons and imports at 4.9 million tons, he added.
Additionally, the government has undertaken various initiatives to enhance the supply of minerals, including reforms to the Mining and Mineral Policy to boost production, expedite the auction and operationalization of expired mines, simplify the business environment, facilitate the transfer of valid rights and approvals, incentivize the initiation of mining operations and dispatch, transfer mining leases, and permit captive mines to sell up to 50 percent of produced minerals while enhancing exploration activities, the minister elaborated.
The government also introduced the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy in November 2019, which aims to create a framework for establishing metal scrapping centers in India for the scientific processing and recycling of ferrous scrap generated from a variety of sources, he concluded.
