“Currently, India has the fourth largest steel sector in the world, both in terms of capacity and production. By 2013, India will be the second largest steel producer in the world.
It is estimated that India will have a production capacity of 120 MT,” Verma said at an Assocham event here.
India’s production capacity currently stands at around 80 MT and the minister said the capacity was expected to rise to over 150 MT by 2020. The steel-making capacity of the country was just 51 MT in 2006.
Meanwhile, Steel Secretary P.K. Mishra said by the end of the current financial year, the steel manufacturing capacity of the country might reach around 90 MT.
“This is likely to cross 110 MT by next financial year when the brownfield capacity addition projects of SAIL, JSW Steel and Tata Steel get commissioned,” Mr. Mishra said.
The Secretary said that growth in steel demand averaged 10 per cent over the last seven years and there was a likelihood that the trend would continue at least for the next decade.
“There are expectations that steel demand in the country may exceed 10 per cent, at times, during the next 10-15 years horizon. In such a scenario, our steel production capacity should reach 150 MT by 2018,” he said.
Mr. Mishra hoped that the country would be able to meet steel demand through domestic production at least for the next five years.