Steel industry must reciprocate by producing value-added products: Pradhan

The theme of the Conference was “Most advantageous route of Environment-friendly steel making through Electric Induction Furnace (EIF) and its global acceptance"

Minister of Petroleum and Natural Gas & Steel Shri Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the industry to focus on the development of new technologies and work towards exporting indigenous technologies to ensure more value addition and making the Indian steel sector more competitive.

Participating in the 33rd National Conference of All India Induction Furnace Association of India (AIIFA) on Secondary Steel Sector here today, Shri Pradhan said, "Almost half of the country's steel production is done by the secondary steel sector. We are making our policy framework more inclusive. Our Government has made raw material even more accessible to the secondary steel sector. The industry must reciprocate by producing more value-added products.".

The theme of the Conference was "Most advantageous route of Environment-friendly steel making through Electric Induction Furnace (EIF) and its global acceptance"

Speaking about the importance of energy availability and affordability for the steel sector, Shri Pradhan said, "Steel industry needs more affordable energy. We are exploring new sources of energy. We are moving towards a gas-based economy. We are laying a big network through Urja Ganga Yojana. We have 600 Million MT biomass in the country. Through the use of technology, uptake guarantee we are planning to facilitate setting up 5000 plants for bioenergy generation. "

Referring to the importance of MSMEs, the minister stated that while economies of scale have their own benefits, large industries alone cannot cater to the huge population in terms of job creation. "Our MSMEs play an important role in large scale employment creation.

The nation cannot prosper without wealth creators. Guided by the mantra of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" we are committed to facilitating the growth of wealth creators," he added.

Speaking about India's ambition to become a net steel exporter, Shri Pradhan said, "India still imports high-quality steel. We have a large market with a skilled workforce. We must create an ecosystem to develop more high-quality steel in the country and move towards becoming a net exporter."

(With Inputs from PIB)