The Union steel ministry hopes to have a fair say in raw material issues, especially those affecting Indian steel’s competitiveness, and doesn’t want direct control. Iron ore and coking coal, the two key ingredients of steelmaking, are regulated by the mines and coal ministries. Aruna Sharma, secretary in the Ministry of Steel, told ET’s Meera Mohanty on the sidelines of Asia Steel 2018, a conference hosted by Tata Steel and the Indian Institute of Metals, that she expects the new mineral policy to be ready by the end of March.
There were reports that the steel minister would take control of iron ore and coking coal?
It’s not direct control that may be mandatory but it is important that interventions done in iron ore or other raw material have the steel ministry on board. We are advocating a thought process where the entire sector lifecycle decision-making or policy is done after open deliberations with all stakeholders.
If I give you the example of iron ore, as the availability of scrap increases, the requirement of iron ore will plateau. So it is important to get steel’s input in plans to auction iron ore mines or when we are working on an export policy on iron ore. Similarly, for other inputs like coking coal and how it is extracted, the need is to reduce its ash content, replace imports.
In what way is this to happen?
That is under deliberation, but yes, we have created a platform where input of steel industry is being taken so that policy formulations are holistic and the voices of all stakeholders are included. Read More
