INSDAG highlights setting up steel fabrication units in rural areas to boost consumption

In a bid to increase steel consumption in semi urban and rural areas, the Institute for Steel Development & Growth (INSDAG) said it has taken initiatives like setting up steel fabrication units in rural areas by entrepreneurs and organizing skill development programs for identification of right projects to pursue.

As part of Iconic Week Celebrations, a seminar on Increasing Steel Consumption: Steel Usage Way Forward" was organized by INSDAG under the aegis of Rastriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Visakhapatnam Steel Plant on Wednesday.

Arijit Guha, Sr Functionary from INSDAG explained the steps being taken by INSDAG in increasing steel consumption in semi urban and rural areas. The main activities of INSDAG and the technical services offered by them were highlighted.

''As part of the rural initiatives for increasing the consumption of steel, the efforts were highlighted as Setting up Steel Fabrication Units in rural areas by entrepreneurs, organizing skill development programs identification of right projects to pursue so that there are definite gains in consumption of steel at the field level,'' a Ministry of Steel statement said.

The seminar also highlighted initiatives like taking up special projects to propagate the use of special steels like High Tensile/ High Performance Steel, more industry-academia interaction through workshops and seminars.

Mukesh Kumar, Director of Steel Research & Technology Mission of India (SRTMI), said as of now per capita steel consumption in India is at 77 kg as against world average of 228 kg. Under the National Steel Policy (NSP) 2017, the government through various ongoing programmes aims to scale it up to 158 kgs by 2030-31.