PLI SCHEME OF SPECIALITY STEEL - ECONOMY
News: PLI
scheme to generate investment of ₹30,000 crore in specialty steel sector, says
Scindia
What's in the news?
● Union
minister for Civil Aviation & Steel Jyotiraditya M. Scindia said that the
ministry has signed 57 MoUs with 27 companies for specialty steel under the PLI
scheme, which is expected to generate
investment of about ₹30,000 crore and create additional capacity of about 25 mt
of specialty steel in next five years.
Key takeaways:
● Addressing
India Steel 2023 conference through a video message, Mr. Scindia said, “We have
emerged as the second-largest steel producer in the world with per capita steel
consumption going up from 57 kilos to 78 kilos during the last nine years.
● The
PLI Scheme in the steel sector will also create 60,000 plus jobs and help India to become the third-largest economy by 2030-31.
● The
Steel Ministry is in the process of aligning policies with the Gati Shakti Master Plan which will
complement the ₹100 lakh crore investment plan for infrastructure
development over the next five years and this will boost the demand for steel
in various sectors, thereby enhancing steel usage.
Stats on steel sector:
● In
2013-14, steel production capacity was about 100 million tonnes and crude steel
production was about 82 million tonnes, whereas in 2022-23 the steel production
capacity increased to 154 million tonnes and crude steel production to 125
million tonnes.
● The
Vehicle Scrappage Policy for
circular economy will help the steel industry to get maximum scrap and this
policy will also be helpful in the production of green steel.
● The
steel sector, which contributes approximately 2% to the Indian GDP and provides employment to over 2 million
people.
Increasing demand for steel:
● The
industry has anticipated that there would be a significant demand for steel,
particularly from the manufacturing, engineering, construction and
infrastructure sectors, to keep up with the country’s rapid modernization,
economic growth and nation development.
PLI Scheme for Speciality Steel:
● The
PLI Scheme aims to boost the production of high-grade
specialty steel in the country.
Coverage:
● The
five categories of specialty steel
that have been chosen in the PLI Scheme are as follows.
a. Coated/Plated
Steel Products
b. High
Strength/Wear-resistant Steel
c. Specialty
Rails
d. Alloy
Steel Products and Steel wires
e. Electrical
Steel.
Incentives:
● There
are 3 slabs of PLI incentives under
the scheme. The lowest being 4% and the highest is 12%, which has been provided
for electrical steel (CRGO).
Eligibility:
● Any company registered in
India engaged in the manufacturing of the
identified Specialty Steel are eligible to participate under the scheme.
Duration:
● The
duration of the scheme will be five
years from 2023-24 to 2027-28.
Go back to basics:
Specialty Steel:
● Specialty
steel is value-added steel wherein normal finished steel is worked upon by way
of coating, plating, heat treatment, etc. to convert it into high-value-added
steel.
● This
steel can be used in various strategic
applications like Defense, Space, Power, apart from the automobile sector,
specialized capital goods among others.
Benefits of Specialty Steel:
● High
corrosion resistance
● Targeted
resistance to high and/or low temperatures
● Easily
fabricated
● Dimensional
stability and strength
● Non-magnetic
● Sterile
and hygienic
● Well
suited for special applications
● Lighter
weight
National Steel Policy:
● The
Government has already envisioned this in the National Steel Policy which aims
to increase per capita consumption of
steel to 160kg, while aiming to augment production capacity to 300 MT by 2030
with a contribution of 35-40% from EAF (Electric Arc Furnace steel)/IF route.
Further Reference: Green Steel