Adopt technologies for high-grade products: Beni Prasad Verma advises firms

NEW DELHI: Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma today asked domestic steel makers to adopt technologies for producing high-grade steels and avoiding costly imports.


"Though India is able to meet most of its steel demand through domestic production, some special grades are imported. Steel producers need to adopt suitable technologies to produce such special grade steel at competitive price to avoid costly imports," Verma said at a CII-organised event here.

India had imported 8 million tonne steel in the 2012-13 fiscal, up from 6.83 million tonne in 2011-12, and 6.66 million tonnes in 2010-11.

The increase was on account of higher demand for certain special grade of steel from the automobile sector.

Stating that the biggest challenge for the industry was optimum use of raw material, Verma said: "I think modern pelletisation techniques need to be adopted to effectively utilise iron ore fines.

"Such greener technologies will not only lead to production of clean steel, but also help in consumption of low grade ore."

He added: "Another challenge is that of providing better logistics for raw material and finish product. I feel transportation of raw material through slurry pipelines could be a better solution for movement of inputs to steel plants."