India becomes 2nd largest producer of crude steel

In a major achievement, India overtook Japan to become the second largest producer of crude steel in February 2018.

At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, producing more than 50% of the world's steel. India's crude steel production was up 4.4%, and stood at 93.11 million tonnes  from  April 2017 to February 2018 (prov) compared with April 2016 to February 2017.

India overtook the US in 2015 to become the third largest producer of crude steel.

In a press statement Nikunj Turakhia, President of Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI), said: "India bagging the second position ahead of Japan is a matter of pride and speaks volumes about the right policies undertaken by the Modi government. The government has taken host of steps to curb imports, push local demand with initiatives like "Make in India," implementation of the GST and infrastructure projects, to encourage the domestic market."

According to World Steel Association India produced 8.4 MT of crude steel in February 2018, up 3.4% on February 2017.

"The steel ministry is working proactively to lay down the road map to achieve 300 million tons by 2030 and we seem to be on the right track. In addition, the quick resolution of various big-ticket steel mills under IBC and NCLT is expected to further hasten the process of achieving higher capacity utilisation," he added.