India’s steel industry may benefit from NCov: Pradhan

TIL Desk/Business/New Delhi/ The impact of Coronavirus outbreak will be felt on the global steel industry for at least two to three years, as China is the largest producer of the alloy, Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan said on Monday.

The minister also asked Indian steel companies to enhance output, particularly special steel, to grab a larger global market share. A strategy paper was being prepared for producing 10 million tonnes of special steel at a cost of Rs 50,000 crore with 50,000 employment potential in the present scenario, he said.

India is the second largest global producer of steel with an annual output of over 106 million tonne (MT), but lags much behind China that accounted for 928.3 MT of the alloy in 2018. “When some markets in the globe face pressure, its positive reflection is felt in some other markets.

This is an automatic (natural) law. India occupies number two slot in steel production. From capital goods to finished products – how can we derive benefit – we are holding talks with stakeholders,” Pradhan said on the sidelines of a CII event.