Thiruvananthapuram: Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan stressed on Thursday the need to produce high grade steel for greater self-sufficiency.
Inaugurating the 57th National Metallugists Day at nearby Kovalam, the minister of petroleum, natural gas and steel, appealed to the delegates to embrace the challenge of producing high grade steel for greater self-sufficiency.
He urged them to work towards greater sustainability in the steel sector and contribute towards creation of an Indian model of green economy.
The government was working to create world class facility for metallurgical engineering and development of human resources for the steel sector.
"Metals, including steel continue to play a vital role in building of a modern economy. There is a strong positive correlation between steel usage and a nation's economic growth," he said.
Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, India was on a steady path to become a $5 Trillion economy, he said.
"The country was in the midst of Industrial Revolution driven by digitisation, automation, big data, artificial intelligence and Internet of Things. It will fundamentally alter the way we live and work.
Steel sector too must be future ready to embrace the change and leverage innovation for achieving this quantum leap," he said.
The decision to cut corporate tax and to opt out of RCEP in its present form have been received well by all stakeholders of the economy, the minister said.
Steel sector will have a key role to play in the making of a New India envisioned by the Prime Minister.
The next trajectory of growth, fuelled by Government's key focus on building infrastructure for future, creating smart cities, industrial corridors and so forth will further boost steel consumption, he added.
Backed by entrepreneurial spirit of the industry and the policy measures taken by the Government, Indian steel industry is becoming more vibrant, competitive and environment friendly, he said.
The National steel policy has been formulated to create a more self-sufficient and globally competitive steel industry with a crude steel capacity of 300 MT by 2030.
Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Product policy seeks to accomplish the vision of Make in India in steel sector by providing preference to domestically manufactured products in government procurement.
Recently the government has also come up with a Steel Scrap policy which aims to promote circular economy in the steel sector, he said. Though India has risen to the worlds second largest crude steel producer, the per capita steel consumption was much lower than the global average.