The Indian steel industry is faced with a paradox: Rising demand and falling prices. Demand continues to surge as user industries gather pace, with the World Steel Association projecting around 9 per cent annual growth for India over 2025 and 2026, the year domestic demand is projected to be almost 75 million tonnes (mt) higher than in 2020.
There was no change in the top three steel producing nations with China, Japan and the US retaining their slots in the respective order in 2012, World Steel Association data revealed.
India's steel production in the first six months of the current year stood at 35.636 million tonnes, almost one-tenth of neighbouring China's total output during the same period.
Introduced by the tycoon Lakshmi Niwas Mittal at the World Steel Association, the top administration official argued that the international system is changing and hence 'great,large countries' would have to be accommodated in that global framework.
ArcelorMittal could be interested in Bhushan Steel or Essar Steel, two of the five steel companies referred by RBI for insolvency proceedings.
Higher import duties on steel improve the bottom lines of steel-makers, but depress those of downstream users of steel.
India's steel imports from China, the world's biggest producer of the alloy, doubled in April-September from a year ago though the country has enough capacity to meet its demand.
Some feel that Tata Steel has put these assets on the block only after exhausting all the options.
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