Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has launched Mission Purvodaya, which aims at the accelerated development of eastern India through an integrated steel hub. The mission will drive India’s march towards $5 trillion economy set by the government, he said at the launch event in Kolkata on January 11.

With Mission Purvodaya in the steel sector, he said a new chapter will script the rise of eastern India by accelerated development of steel sector through an integrated steel hub.

Indian steel sector

Steel is one of the most important products in the modern world and forms the backbone of any industrial economy. With steel finding its extensive application right from construction, infrastructure, power, aerospace and industrial machinery to consumer products, the sector is of strategic importance to the country.

The Indian steel sector has grown exponentially over the past few years to be the third largest producer of steel globally, contributing to about 2 per cent of the country’s GDP and employing about 5 lakh people directly and about 20 lakh people indirectly.

Why focus on this region?

Eastern states (Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal) and northern part of Andhra Pradesh collectively hold 80 per cent of the country’s iron ore, 100 per cent of coking coal and a significant portion of chromite, bauxite and dolomite reserves.

There are major ports such as Paradip, Haldia, Visakhapatnam and Kolkata, with more than 30 per cent of India’s major port capacity.

In India’s march towards a $5 trillion economy, the five eastern states can play a major role where the steel sector can become the catalyst.

The eastern belt has the potential to add more than 75 per cent of the country’s incremental steel capacity envisioned by the National Steel Policy.

It is expected that out of the 300 million tonne capacity by 2030-31, more than 200 million tonnes can come from this region alone.

Since eastern India holds a special focus, the government has taken several measures, including a Rs 102 lakh crore worth of National Infrastructure Pipeline.

What are the objectives of the steel hub?

The proposed Integrated Steel Hub, encompassing Odisha, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal and northern Andhra Pradesh, would serve as a torchbearer for socio-economic growth of eastern India.

The objective of this hub would be to enable swift capacity addition and improve overall competitiveness of steel producers both in terms of cost and quality.

It would focus on three key elements...

1. Capacity addition through easing the setting up of greenfield steel plants.

2. Development of steel clusters near integrated steel plants as well as demand centres.

3. Transformation of logistics and utilities infrastructure, which would change the socio-economic landscape in the East.

The growth of the steel industry through such a hub would lead to significant employment opportunities across the entire value chain and will play a significant role in overall socio-economic growth of eastern India.

National Steel Policy

In May 2017, the Union Cabinet gave its approval for National Steel Policy, 2017 (NSP 2017). Owing to the strategic importance of the sector along with the need to have a robust and restructured policy, the NSP 2017 became imminent. Though the National Steel Policy, 2005 (NSP 2005) sought to indicate ways and means of consolidating the gains flowing out of the then economic order and charted out a road map for sustained and efficient growth of the Indian steel industry, it required adaptation in view of the recent developments unfolding in India and also worldwide, both on the demand and supply sides of the steel market.

The new policy enshrines the long-term vision of the government to give impetus to the steel sector. It seeks to enhance domestic steel consumption and ensure high-quality steel production and create a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.

The policy projects crude steel capacity of 300 million tonnes (MT), production of 255 MT and a robust finished steel per capita consumption of 158 kg by 2030-31, as against the current consumption of 61 kg.

The policy also envisages to domestically meet the entire demand of high-grade automotive steel, electrical steel, special steels and alloys for strategic applications and increase domestic availability of washed coking coal so as to reduce import dependence on coking coal from about 85 per cent to around 65 per cent by 2030-31.

Highlights of the new policy

* The steel ministry will facilitate research and development in the sector through the establishment of Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI). The initiative is aimed to spearhead R&D of national importance in iron & steel sector utilising tripartite synergy among industry, national R&D laboratories and academic institutes.

* The ministry through policy measures will ensure the availability of raw materials such as iron ore, coking coal and non-coking coal, natural gas, etc at competitive rates.

* With the rollout of the NSP 2017, it is envisaged that the industry will be steered in creating an environment for promoting domestic steel and thereby ensuring a scenario where production meets the anticipated pace of growth in consumption, through a technologically advanced and globally competitive steel industry.

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