​India is now the world's 3rd largest steel producing country

India has left behind the US to become the world's third largest steel producer, Union Minister of Steel and Mines Narendra Singh Tomar said while addressing a meeting of the Parliamentary Consultative Committee attached to his ministry.

By 2025, the government has fixed a target of 300 million tonnes production capacity and steel ministry is working out an action plan and strategies to achieve this target, the minister said.

"So far India was the 4th largest steel producer in the world only after China, Japan and the US. However, during the first five months of this calendar year, India has achieved the 3rd position in the global steel production," said Tomar .

He elaborated that Indian steel industry is growing at a reasonably good pace and last year the growth in crude steel production in India is more than 8%.

According to Tomar, Indian steel industry is already in expansion mode. The older steel plants are being modernised and expanded. New green field plants are also coming with state-of-the-art technologies.

He further said that recently Prime Minister Narendra Modi had dedicated the India's largest Blast Furnace of 4160 cubic meter, installed at SAIL's IISCO Steel plant at Burnpur and several Blast Furnaces of around 4000 cubic meter with world class efficiency parameters are in the operation in the country.

On Research and Development to sustain the long-term growth of the Indian steel industry, the minister asserted that the problems in raw material area need to be addressed to utilise low-grade ore and high ash coal through R&D and technology interventions. Tomar also emphasised on the need to pursue R&D for development of value added products for which we are dependent on import.
(Image: PIB)