(a) whether the Government is aware that the impact of COVID- 19 on 25 steel mills in the State of Kerala has been stronger owing to the fact that construction projects in the State are mainly carried out during the January - May period before the rainy season;
(b) if so, the steps taken by the Government in this regard;
(c) if not, the reasons therefor; and
(d) the measures, if any, taken to reduce impacts of the pandemic, both short-term and long-term, on the Indian steel industry?
THE MINISTER OF STEEL (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)
(a) The details of crude steel capacity, production and capacity utilisation in respect of various states including Kerala during April, 2020 -January, 2021 and April, 2019 -January, 2020 are enclosed as Annexure.
(b)to(d): The measures taken by the Government to boost the domestic steel production, availability and consumption, in the light of COVID-19 pandemic, are as following:-
(i) Ministry of Steel has held several rounds of consultations during the lockdown period with various stakeholders including industry associations and leaders of domestic steel industry to address their issues including those arising due to lockdown by taking up the same with the concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central Government and State Governments. Guidelines issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs from time to time have facilitated speedy resumption of steel production. The Ministry of Steel has also organized the following Webinars with relevant stakeholders to enhance the overall demand for steel in the country:
(a) Oil and Gas Sector, 16th June, 2020.
(b) Ispati Irada, Enhancing Steel Usage, 30th June, 2020.
(c) Housing and Civil Aviation Sector, 18th August, 2020.
(d) Agriculture, Rural Development, Dairying and Food Processing Sectors, 20th October, 2020.
(ii) Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) Policy, has been suitably amended vide notification dated 31st December, 2020, in order to align it with the revised Public Procurement (Preference to Make in India) Order 2017. The minimum value addition has been enhanced from 15% to 20% and the policy is now applicable to all procurement above Rupees 5 lakhs and includes EPC contracts among other changes.
(iii) Inclusion of ‘specialty steel’ under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme recently announced by the Government to help attract capital investment and production of specialty steel in the country
(iv) The Government, vide Notification dated 01st October, 2020, has allowed domestic steel producers to provide steel under four product categories (Hot Rolled Coil, Cold Rolled Coil, Wire Rods and Alloy Steel Bars) to MSME members of EEPC at an export parity price.
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