Steel sector to be stable for 10 years, says Joint Secretary Dalip Singh

JAMSHEDPUR: The steel sector would not feel any pressure in the next 10 years due to increasing domestic demand, said Dalip Singh, Joint Secretary, Union Ministry of Steel.

"The global economic slowdown did not have any impact in the country and the steel sector will not have any pressure for next ten years due to the increasing domestic demand," Singh told reporters.

Singh, who was here to attend the Dissemination Seminar for India-Japan Model project for Coke Dry Quenching, said the steel sector was growing by 10 to 12 per cent, which was slightly more than the growth of GDP.

"We have produced 69.52 million tonnes of steel last fiscal and expected to achieve 10 to 12 per cent increase this fiscal," he said adding that production witnessed six to eight per cent growth while the demand stood at 10 to 12 per cent.

Brown field projects were progressing well but the progress in green field projects was slow due to reasons like land acquisition and clearance from forest and environment departments.

On the ongoing expansion programmes of several steel plants including SAIL-owned Bokaro Steel Plant and Tata Steel in Jharkhand, he said SAIL's capacity would increase from 12 million tonnes to 21 million tones next year.