We need to find innovative ways to keep the steel projects strong: Union steel secretary

Ranchi: Two day ‘Internation Conference on Steel: Important of Capital Goods (ICONS 24)’ started today at Management Training Institute (MTI) Conference Hall in Shyamali Colony.

Organised jointly by MECON Limited and SAIL under the aegis of union minister of Ministry of Steel, the aim of the conference is to bring together the brightest minds and leading stakeholders of the steel industry including technology providers, steel producers, manufacturers, academia and others to foster new partnerships, find new solutions and advance the future of the steel industry.

Union steel secretary Nagendra Nath Sinha in his address talked about careful project planning and timely execution.

“Careful project planning and timely execution has become one of the biggest challenges for the steel projects being set up in India today. We need to find innovative ways to keep the steel projects strong and execute our projects on time for their long term sustainability, ” he said.

He also emphasized on incorporating new ways of working, new ideas and new talents to revive the heavy industry sector.

Union joint secretary for steel Abhijeet Narendra talked about limitations in manufacturing machinery.

“Though we are the second largest producer of steel, we have limitations in manufacturing machinery for the steel industry,” he said and emphasized on creating an ecosystem that includes all stakeholders.

NMDC CMD emphasized on the need of interaction between technology provider and technology buyer. “India is the fifth largest economy and we are the youngest and the most vibrant nation. India is basically a service sector based nation. The manufacturing sector needs to be developed substantially and the sectors should be laid out hierarchically. There is a need for continuous interaction between technology provider and technology buyer to educate each other about the future prospects and requirements,” he said.

The CMD of MOIL said that the capital goods sector is a broad strategic part of the economy. The capital goods sector is considered to be the mother of the manufacturing sector. He emphasized that integrated steel plants should have large engineering workshops.

CMD SAIL, co-hosting the conference welcomed the gathering and said that given the volatility in the world, we need to focus on supply chain security, as it is becoming extremely difficult to secure supply chains. He emphasized on developing a comprehensive and sustainable ecosystem for indigenous capital goods production.

CMD MECON spoke about the National Steel Policy (NSP), 2017 and said that as per the policy target to reach 300 million Tonnes of steel capacity, about 138-139 million Tonnes of new capacity is expected to be added in the next 7-8 years, involving massive investments of US$ 120-130 billion from the Indian steel industry.

He said about 15-20% of steel plant equipment is likely to be imported from abroad and given the current situation where import content and value increases as one moves up the value chain, imported equipment worth about US$ 18-20 billion is likely to be sourced from abroad, besides components worth about US$ 400-500 million are also likely to be sourced from abroad.

Thus, he said, it is important to explore strategies such as technology transfer or international technology providers to set up manufacturing units in India to strengthen domestic manufacturing.

Four technical sessions were organized on the first day. The topic included ‘Trends and Challenges in Coke Making Technology’, ‘Trends and Challenges in Agglomeration Technology’, ‘Trends and Challenges in Iron Making Technology’, ‘Trends and Challenges in Steel Making Technology’

Senior representatives from manufacturing companies, iron and steel producers, equipment suppliers, engineering and consultancy companies were present during the conference on the first day. The participation of academia reflects a collaborative willingness to take on challenges.