India's crude steel production drops by 1.4 pct to 8.936 MT in Dec 2018

India's crude steel production fell by 1.4 per cent to 8.936 million tonnes (MT) in December 2018, according to official data. The country had produced 9.067 MT crude steel in December 2017. "Crude steel production stood at 8.936 MT in December 2018, down by 1.4 per cent over December 2017 and was down by 0.3 per cent over November 2018." the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) said in its latest report.

State-run SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, Tata Steel, Essar Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel and Power together produced 47.462 MT, the report said, adding that the rest 31.522 MT came from other producers. In December 2018, hot metal output stood at 6.158 MT, 2.6 per cent higher over 6.001 MT in the same month in 2017, the JPC said. The country's pig iron production fell by 5.5 per cent to 0.530 MT in December 2018 from 0.561 MT in December 2017. India has set an ambitious target of increasing its capacity to 300 MT by 2030-31. The JPC, under the Ministry of Steel, is the only institution in the country that collects data on the iron and steel industry.

(With inputs from agencies.)