Government Receives 73 Applications for Specialty Steel PLI Scheme

The Indian government has got 73 applications under the second round of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel. According to the Union Steel Ministry Secretary, Sandeep Poundrik, “This initiative will promote domestic production and reduce dependence on imports.

Poundrik, addressing the Catalyzing R&D in the Indian Steel Sector event here, reaffirmed the government’s resolve to restrict the entry of substandard steel in the Indian market. “We are ensuring that lower standard steel is not coming in. Orders for quality control are being enforced to set standards for domestically manufactured and imported steel.,” he said.

India’s PLI scheme has received a rather encouraging response for the second round as well, as per 73 project applications, a total of 16.5 million tonne fresh production capacity in specialty steel is expected to be added to India’s capacity.

This phase of the scheme, officially referred to as PLI Scheme 1.1, was announced in January by Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy. The scheme continues with the initial outlay of ₹6,322 crore and aims at five categories of products:

• Coated/plated steel products

• High-strength and wear-resistant steel

• Specialty rails

• ON TP and similar data (One year)

• Electrical steel

Common applications of these steel variants include automobiles, transformers, and white goods manufacturing.

Poundrik also spoke on the effects of U.S. tariff measures on Indian steel exports. He explained that India’s steel exports to the U.S. are currently quite small, less than 100,000 tonnes, and so the new tariffs are not expected to have much impact on the domestic industry.

The PLIs scheme is an essential building block of a broader initiative of India to build a steel base that is self-sufficient in making high-grade steel and complies with quality specifications for retail consumer markets and export markets.