India overtakes Japan to become second largest crude steel manufacturer

India has gone ahead of Japan to become the world's second largest producer of crude steel in February. This information comes from the Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), quoting World Steel Association data. Currently, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50 percent of the production.

In the April 2017 to February 2018 period, India's crude steel production was up 4.4 percent and stood at 93.11 million tonnes (mt). It was in 2015 that India had overtaken the US to become the third largest producer of crude steel.

Attributing the growth in steel production to the right policies undertaken by the government, Nikunj Turakhia, president, SUFI, said, "The government has taken a host of steps to curb imports, push local demand with initiatives like 'Make in India', implementation of the GST and infrastructure projects, to encourage the domestic market." 

According to the World Steel Association, India produced 8.4 mt of crude steel in February 2018, up 3.4 percent over February 2017.

Turakhia said the steel ministry is working proactively to lay down the road map to achieve 300 million tons by 2030 and "we seem to be on the right track".

"In addition, quick resolution of various big-ticket steel mills under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the National Company Law Tribunal is expected to further hasten the process of achieving higher capacity utilisation," he added.