For 2017-18 steel industry must aim for 'Plus One Per Cent Growth Rate': Union Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh

“I want the steel industry to showcase a growth as of the last financial year in 2017-18; in fact, it should be one per cent higher. I am asking you to better your best. Let our mission for 2017-18 be ‘Plus One Per Cent Growth Rate’,” said Chaudhary Birender Singh, Minister for Steel, Government of India, while addressing the gathering of honchos from the steel industry at ‘India Steel 2017’ conference organized by FICCI in Mumbai.

The Minister said, “We increased exports by 102%, let us increase exports by 103 % this year. We increased steel production by 9%, let us take it to 10%. We reduced imports by 36%, let us try and reduce imports by 37%. Steel consumption increased by 3%, let us ensure that it reaches 4% this year.”

Chaudhary Birender Singh said, “I suggest that primary and secondary steel producers must come together to establish a ‘Big-data Analytics & Application Centre for Steel’ with the objective of pooling resources and information available with all steel companies and analyzing the collated data. This will help to promote usage of steel by statistically demonstrating the advantages of steel over other materials and also to explore new areas where steel can be used.”

He added, “The findings and research then should be placed in the public domain so that there is no one-upmanship and issue of data ownership. This will also help media, opinion leaders, architects and engineers access authentic and credible database. I am sure industry will consider it seriously.”

“In my view, in the current scenario, we need to focus on the following five important thrust areas and to make it easy to remember. We have coined an acronym ‘PRIDE’ that aptly sums up the way forward for the steel industry; P stands for Production & Productivity; R for Research & Development; I for Indian-made steel; D for Demand of Steel; and E for Excellence in quality,” Chaudhary Singh said and added, “each of these areas is important from the perspective of ‘Make in Steel’, which I understand is essential for maximizing usage of steel in different segments of industry. I am sure you will all use PRIDE as your guiding principle for Make in Steel Roadmap for the industry.”

The Minister said that in a bid to boost domestic steel production and bring it technologically on a par with developed nations, the government has formulated the Draft National Steel Policy 2017 envisaging that the industry can be steered with appropriate policy support in creating an environment for promoting domestic steel and thereby ensuring a scenario where production matches with the anticipated pace of growth in consumption.

He said the government aims to increase focus on expansion of MSME sector, improve raw material security, enhance R&D activities, reduce import dependency and cost of production, and thus develop a “technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry that promotes economic growth” eyeing self-sufficiency in production, developing globally economical steel manufacturing capabilities by facilitating investments and cost efficient productions with adequate availability of raw materials.

Birender Singh said, “I recommend to FICCI for the formation of a taskforce, comprising representatives from each sphere of the Indian steel industry (be it public or private producer, raw material supplier, technology provider or a logistics firm); all need to work in tandem and in collaboration so that the vision can be turned into a reality. Our endeavor, through this conglomeration of Government, policy makers, industrial leaders and potential investors from all across the world is to discuss the new growth drivers that are revolutionizing the Indian steel (along with upstream and downstream industries) and assess challenges and opportunities associated with technology adoption.”