Identifying opportunities where consumption of steel can be increased is high on the government’s priority, said Minister of Steel and Petroleum & Natural Gas, Dharmendra Pradhan during a webinar ‘IspatiIrada’ to promote consumption of steel, on Tuesday.
Minister of State for Steel, Faggan Singh Kulaste said India’s National Infrastructure Pipeline worth Rs 103 lakh crore ($1.37 trillion) will propel enhanced steel demand for its construction.
“Ispat (steel) is not just a material but it is a state of mind,” Pradhan said. He also spoke about ‘Make in Steel’ initiative, urging construction sector to increase consumption of steel. He discussed ways to increase steel consumption by investing in creating infrastructure for future within sectors like railways, roads, civil aviation and energy, which would stimulate the consumption of steel.
He said that India has become second largest producer of steel in the world, and has the capacity to build quality products, but per-capita consumption of steel in the country is almost one-third of the global average, and there is immense potential there.
Kulaste also said increasing steel consumption in the rural areas, which is one-fourth of the national average, will be incentive to the economic activities.
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