Pradhan asks steel companies to develop new technologies

The government on Monday asked domestic steel players to develop new steel technologies and making the sector more competitive, according to an official statement. At present in India, steel is made using blast oxygen furnace (BOF) route and electric arc furnace (EAF) route, while in some countries players are making steel from gas-based plants.

"Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has urged the (local steel) industry to focus on development of new technologies and work towards export-oriented indigenous technologies to ensure more value addition and making Indian steel sector more competitive," the steel ministry said in a statement. Steel industry needs more affordable energy. The government is exploring new sources of energy, he said, adding India is moving towards a gas based economy.

A large network pipeline being laid down under Pradhan Mantri Urja Ganga Yojana which will touch almost all the steel clusters. "We have 600 Million MT biomass in the country. Through use of technology, uptake guarantee we are planning to facilitate setting up of 5,000 plants for bio energy generation," the statement quoted Pradhan as saying.

India still imports high quality steel, while directing the players to create an ecosystem to develop more high quality steel in the country and move towards the goal of becoming a net exporter of steel. As per estimates India imports 7-8 MT of steel every year.