Question : Crude Steel Production

(a) whether there is a gap between production capacity of crude steel and its actual production by the Public and Private Sector Companies in the country during each of the last three years and the current year, if so, the details thereof, Company-wise;
(b) the number of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) formed by the Government to bridge the said gap along with their achievements, SPV-wise;
(c) the details of the investments made by the Public/Private Sector Companies for their expansion and modernisation to participate in the Make-in-India Programme of the Government since inception of the Programme in the country; and
(d) whether the Government proposes to relax the norms for setting up of steel plants in order to increase Steel Companies’ participation in the said Programme, if so, the details thereof?

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR STEEL (SHRI VISHNU DEO SAI)

(a) Yes, Madam. There is a gap between production capacity of crude steel and its actual production by the Public and the Private Sector Steel Companies. The details of four years from 2015-16 to 2017-18 and FY 2018-19 (upto Dec., 2019) are given at Annexure-I.

(b) Based on the decision taken in the meeting of High Level Committee on Manufacturing held on 09.07.2013 to achieve the ambitious target of 300 Million Tonne Per Annum (MTPA) steel production capacity by 2025, a concept of Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV) was enunciated. Four mineral rich States, namely, Chhattisgarh, Odisha, Karnataka and Jharkhand were identified for setting up of Integrated Steel Plant through the SPV route. So far, Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) has been signed with the State Governments of Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh. The Greenfield integrated steel projects in Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh will be of the capacity of 3+3 or 4+2 MTPA capacity range, each.

(c) Steel being a deregulated sector, investment, including under Make-in-India programme both for the fresh or the expansion and modernization, is made by prospective investors based on various factors including commercial consideration and market dynamics. Among the Public Sector, SAIL has undertaken expansion & modernization of its six steel plants at a total cost of Rs. 72,134 crore. RINL had undertaken expansion & modernization of Vizag Steel Plant at a total cost of Rs. 12,291 crore. The expansion & modernization of Vizag Steel Plant of RINL is completed. Further, RINL has also taken up modernization and expansion of Vizag Steel Plant at a cost of Rs. 3600 crores to increase the capacity from 6.3 to 7.3 MPTA. NMDC is setting up a Greenfield 3.0 MTPA integrated steel plant at Nagarnar.

(d) Steel is deregulated industry and no license is required to make investment to set up a new steel plant, except for the statutory requirements related to land acquisition, environmental and forest clearance, water use, etc. The decisions in regards to investment in the steel capacities are based on various factors including commercial consideration and market dynamics.