JSW, Japan's JFE Mull Specialty Steel Production In India With An Investment Of Over $1 Billion: Report

JSW Steel along with its Japanese partner JFE Steel will soon be taking a call on a billion-dollar investment to jointly set up a manufacturing facility for specialty steel in India.

JFE Steel is the second-largest steelmaker in Japan and has a 15 per cent stake in JSW Steel through its European subsidiary.

The project, if the two companies go ahead with it, would help India in reducing its import reliance for the high-end alloy.

The companies had last year commissioned a feasibility study for manufacturing grain oriented electrical steel in India.

Grain-oriented electrical steel is used to make energy efficient transformers, generators and motors.

"It is a highly specialised steel and is 100 per cent imported into India today," JSW Steel's joint managing director Seshagiri Rao was quoted in a Economic Times report as saying.

He added that the high-end alloy has a huge and fast-growing market in India.

According to the ET report, if the companies decide to go ahead with the project, it will entail and investment of over $1 billion.

Further, the project will be implemented at JSW Steel's Vijaynagar Complex in Karnataka.

It should be noted that the electrical steel is slated to receive the highest level of support under the government's Rs 6,322 crore production linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel, which was announced in July this year.