Industry participants await measures to limit steel imports while the government works on PLI 2.0 for the steel sector in 2024.

NEW DELHI: According to Union minister Faggan Singh Kulaste, the government is working on the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme 2.0 and looking into ways to guarantee a sufficient supply of raw materials for the steel sector in 2024. The demand for steel will rise with strong economic growth, but industry participants are still worried about rising imports and high raw material prices in light of geopolitical unpredictability.

Following the coronavirus pandemic that affected the steel industry in 2020–21, steel consumption and production have recovered strongly.

The total amount of crude steel produced this year between April and November was 94.01 million tonnes (MT), an increase of 14.5% over the previous year. According to data from the Steel Ministry, during the same period, the annual consumption of finished steel increased by 14% to 86.97 MT.

By 2030, India wants to have 300 MT of installed steel production capacity. The nation currently has a capacity of about 161 MT.

"We are getting ready for PLI 2.0 in the steel industry. Speaking about the government's priorities for the steel industry in 2024, Kulaste stated that it is being discussed at various levels.

The Minister of State (MoS) for Steel stated in an interview with PTI that the government will guarantee the supply of raw materials for the steel industry and that encouraging the use of scrap will be a priority.

Furthermore, Kulaste, who also oversees the MoS Rural Development portfolio, stated that efforts will be made to encourage industry participants to employ artificial intelligenceThe PLI scheme 1.0, which would increase the production of speciality steel and contribute to the creation of an additional 25 MT of capacity, was approved by the government.
The minister predicted that in 2024, steel production and demand would rise sharply as a result of infrastructure improvements.
and cutting-edge technologies in order to increase steel output while simultaneously looking to reduce carbon emissions.