Challenges Faced by Indian Steel Industry
Steel has been one of the most important materials in the industrialisation of economies worldwide. Steel has been the backbone of modern infrastructure, from skyscrapers to cars, bridges to pipelines. Steel production is a crucial indicator of a nation’s economic growth and is often used as a measure of industrialisation.
India’s steel production has shown remarkable growth in the past decade, making it one of the fastest-growing steel producers in the world. India’s steel production has expanded from 75.28 million tonnes (MT) in 2010-11 to 111.24 MT in 2020-21, representing a growth of 47.76% over the decade. However, the steel industry is not without its challenges, and it faces significant obstacles in today’s global economy.
Major Setbacks India Is Facing
The iron and steel industry demands considerable capital investment that a developing country like India needs help to afford. Many integrated state-owned steel mills have been created with foreign aid. This raises the cost of building collector steel structures.
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The potential utilisation of iron and steel is very low. Rarely the possible use goes beyond 80%, and this is due to many factors, such as strikes, lockouts, scarcity of raw materials, energy crisis, ineffective administration, etc.
India relies heavily on international research and technology, leading to high bills and additional costs. This aside, the technology used in India until recently was heavy on energy consumption, highly polluting and consumed large amounts of water. However, things are changing domestically, with the government insisting that steel units comply with global environmental standards.
Even at a low per capita consumption rate, steel demand is rising daily and large quantities of steel are being imported to meet demand. As a result, the output needs to be increased to save currency and boost infrastructure growth in India. Given the ample reserves of ore in the country, with strategic investment in technology and efficient use of resources, India may outpace its competitors in the steel export market in the coming years.