India Steps Up to Cut Steel Imports, Eyes Export Growth and Domestic Strength

The Indian administration has introduced several measures, including a policy, to strengthen its domestic manufacturing capacity and exports and limit steel imports. This is part of a broader attempt to improve the global competition capabilities of India’s steel industry.

India ranks second in the world in steel production, producing finished steel at 146.69 million tonnes (MnT) and exporting around 4.86 MnT during FY 2023-2024. Yet, the sector continues to depend on imported raw materials and specialty steels, thus requiring intervention by the government.

The various policy measures implemented to curb imports and enhance domestic capacity were laid out before the Lok Sabha by H.D. Kumaraswamy, Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries. The centerpiece of these interventions is the PLI scheme for Specialty Steel, designed to entice capital investment and support local manufacturing.

The Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI\&SP) policy continues to promote ‘Made in India’ steel for government procurement. The introduction of the Steel Quality Control Order bans sub-standard and defective steel imports so that only quality materials are allowed in the domestic market.

Zeroing down BCD on Ferro-Nickel and Molybdenum ores forming part of the Union Budget 2024-25, together with extensions in BCD exemptions on ferrous scrap and inputs agog the manufacture of Cold-Rolled Grain Oriented (CRGO) steel up to March 31, 2026, is towards the readiness of raw materials.

Nevertheless, India still has protection for its domestic industry through anti-dumping and countervailing duties on some steel products imported from China, Vietnam, Thailand, Korea, Japan, and Singapore, as well as under a provisional 12% safeguard duty for flat steel imports for 200 days.

SIMS 2.0, launched in July 2024, has revolutionized the strength of tracking and monitoring steel imports and thus providing real-time data for policymaking.

The above together will build further India’s self-reliance in steel, ensure the quality standards, and trace the export opportunities of this sector.