India’s Union Minister for Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan, has sought Japanese investment in the Indian steel sector, at an event organised by India’s Ministry of Steel, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Japan’s Ministry of economy, on Feb 24 in India.
Pradhan urged Japanese investors to establish a long-term technology partnership with the Indian steel industry, which he claimed is the fastest growing market. Pradhan called upon the domestic steel industry to ramp up production to meet global demand and fill any supply void created due to the Covid-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
India’s steel ministry is pushing for the increased use of steel in the infrastructure and construction sectors for the growth of the economy.
Among such major infrastructure projects is a plan to set up 16,000km of gas pipeline, which is expected to fuel the demand for steel. The Indian government had recently announced $60bn investment for energy infrastructure project.
The minister has tasked the state-owned Steel Authority of India’s (Sail) Bhilai steel plant to draft an action plan to improve steel production in the state of Chhattisgarh, where the plant is located. He laid the foundation stone for an ore beneficiation plant in Rajhara, which will improve the quality of ore supplied to Bhilai plant.