Indian Firms ‘Steel’ The Show: Local Procurement Witnesses Surge As Imports Dwindle

Domestic iron & steel products worth Rs 8129 crore have been bought by various companies and organisations across India, thus giving a boost to the ‘Make In India’ programme. Indian Railways as well as PSUs (Public Sector Units) ONGC, GAIL, EIL and HPCL have switched over to procuring rails, pipe and tubes produced locally rather than relying on imports.

Also, according to a press release, discussions are underway to increase domestic steel intake by the Ministry of Railways and even organisations working under the Ministry of Defence as well as CPWDs (Central Public Works Departments). This increase in the purchase of local steel can be attributed to the NDA government's National Steel Policy, 2017 that gave preference to domestic steel in government procurement. India’s public procurement stands at Rs 5 lakh crore annually.

In a conference organised by the Ministry of Steel this year, MOUs (Memorandum of Understanding) were signed between foreign capital goods manufacturers and technology providers with Indian capital goods manufacturers and steel producers. This will provide the necessary impetus to accelerate the manufacturing of capital goods (like machinery) for the steel sector in the next four years.

Though India’s per capita steel consumption is only one-third that of the world’s average, the prospects for the industry are improving. Indian recently overtook the USA to become the world’s second-largest consumer, trailed by China.

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