Steel ministry likely to seek applications from interested parties to take part in PLI scheme

The minister said since the secondary sector produces many special steel products, the success of the PLI scheme will also depend upon the secondary sector.

The Union steel ministry is likely to seek applications soon from interested parties to take part in the `6,322-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme that seeks to promote production of speciality steel within the country from the middle of the next month.

The ministry hopes the scheme, notified last week, to attract around Rs 45,000-crore investment during the five-year scheme period and it will enhance India’s manufacturing capacity of such grades to 42 million tonne per annum (mtpa) from round 18 mtpa now. Overall, India produced 102 MT steel last year.

Apart from substituting annual imports of speciality steel for use in automobile and power sectors among others, worth around Rs 33,000 crore a year with domestically manufactured product, the scheme will also help in augmenting India’s capacity of exporting of such products in the overseas markets. It will also promote India’s self-reliance in the steel sector.

Talking to reporters on the sidelines of an event to promote the scheme, steel minister R C P Singh said the scheme is likely to catch the attention of all domestic players. The ministry is also hoping to get investment from foreign shores.

“The higher production of speciality steel will reduce India’s import dependence by 76% by 2026-27 and increase exports by 244%. The scheme would generate employment for about 5.25 lakh people, both direct and indirect,” the minister said.

The minister said since the secondary sector produces many special steel products, the success of the PLI scheme will also depend upon the secondary sector.

“While preparing the scheme, extensive discussions were held with all the stakeholders, but there may still be some areas which may require further simplification and modification. Bottlenecks, if any, shall be removed and it will be ensured that the scheme is implemented expeditiously without any difficulty,” Singh said.