India expected to become second largest steel producing nation

NEW DELHI: Minister of State for Steel Beni Prasad Verma on Friday said that with a targeted production capacity of 120 million tonnes by 2012, India is expected to become the second largest steel producing nation very soon.

Addressing at the 'Indian Steel: Moving to the Next Orbit' at CII Steel Summit 2011 here today, Verma said: "It is indeed a matter of pride that India is the largest producer of sponge iron in the world. During the last five years, the country has achieved a compounded average growth rate of over 9.2 per cent in consumption of steel."

"With this consumption base and the targeted growth in GDP coupled with the emphasis of the Government on infrastructure, housing and other steel consuming sectors," he added.

Expressing confidence that demand of steel would increase manifolds, Verma said that there is a need to ensure that production also keeps pace with the level of consumption.

"Substantial capacity is getting added in both Public as well as Private sectors. Most of the major steel projects, particularly those in the brown field sites are progressing as per schedule. New players are also emerging in the field of steel making with significant prospects," said Verma.

"The mini steel sector has also been playing an important role in the economy in generating employment and meeting localized demand of steel. Substantial capacity has been also added in this sector and this segment is expected to grow further in years to come," he added.

The Steel Minister further informed that the government has launched infrastructure development plans on an unprecedented scale in areas such as power, road, ports, railways, communication and human resource development.

"However, a large responsibility lies with the industry and the industry associations," he said and urged the steel industry to come forward and share this responsibility.

The Ministry of Steel and Confederation of Indian Industry jointly organized the Summit.

The Summit has discussed the present problems and finds appropriate strategies to guide for sustainable growth of steel sector in India.

Secretary, Ministry of Steel, P.K. Misra, Chairman, SAIL, C.S. Verma and DG, CII, Chandrajit Banerjee were also present on the occasion.