The government introduces the PLI scheme, quality control orders, and duties to support domestic steel manufacturers.
The Indian government has taken significant steps to reduce steel imports and improve the competitiveness of domestic steel manufacturers. The steel sector, being deregulated, determines its prices based on market demand and supply dynamics. The government, however, acts as a facilitator by creating a supportive policy environment for the growth of the steel industry, including small and medium producers.
To achieve these goals, the following measures have been implemented:
- Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme: Launched to promote the manufacturing of speciality steel within the country, attracting capital investment and reducing dependency on imports.
- Steel Quality Control Orders (QCOs): Enforced to ban substandard and defective steel products in the domestic market and imports, ensuring the availability of quality steel for industries and consumers.
- Anti-Dumping Duty (ADD): Currently applicable to specific steel products like seamless tubes, pipes, and hollow profiles (from China), electro-galvanised steel (from Korea, Japan, Singapore), and welded stainless steel pipes (from Vietnam and Thailand), among others.
- Countervailing Duty (CVD): Imposed on welded stainless steel pipes and tubes from China and Vietnam to curb unfair pricing practices.
- Basic Customs Duty (BCD) Reduction: Reduced from 2.5% to zero on raw materials like ferro-nickel and molybdenum ores and concentrates, which are essential for the steel industry.
These initiatives aim to promote domestic manufacturing, reduce reliance on imports, and ensure the availability of high-quality steel.
This information was shared by the Minister of State for Steel and Heavy Industries, Shri Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, in a written reply in the Rajya Sabha
Source: PIB Delhi
