‘Make in Steel’ conference to be held in New Delhi on Feb 17

Mumbai, February 16

In line with the Prime Minister’s ‘Make in India’ vision, the second edition of ‘Make in Steel’ conference will be held in New Delhi on February 17.

The conference will be inaugurated and addressed by Union Minister of Steel Chaudhary Birender Singh and Steel Secretary Aruna Sharma, besides eminent industry stalwarts and experts from India and abroad.

It will provide a robust platform for critical issue-based discussions, showcasing cutting-edge technologies for steel making, policy planning, raw material security, supply chain, logistics and environment, a statement issued here said.

The Central Government’s flagship ‘Make in India’ programme is aimed at transforming the country into a global manufacturing hub and providing strong stimulus for resurgence of India’s steel industry.

This programme is especially important since the steel industry is now battling a string of formidable impediments such as low domestic consumption; high costs of coking coal, iron ore and nickel import; huge loans of steel companies; global overcapacity; and import of cheap steel products from China and Japan.

This year the conference is special since it is occurring against the backdrop of uncertainty over continuance of Minimum Import Price (MIP) and anti-dumping that the government has imposed to insulate the domestic steel industry against surging imports from steel-surplus countries.

Around 25 steel experts will participate in the brainstorming sessions on issues like Demand Generation in ‘Infrastructure’, ‘Transportation’, ‘Transit System’, ‘Automobiles’, ‘Rural’ and ‘Consumer Durables and General Engineering’, besides ‘Wealth from Waste: Scrap Recycling’.

Experts will also discuss measures to ensure cashless transactions in steel sector in the wake of demonetisation of high value currencies and the country’s push towards becoming a less-cash economy.

This year the ‘Make in Steel’ conference is being organised by KATM, a leadingmulti-commodity e-commerce platform, with support from Union Ministry of Steel, JSW Steel, Essar Steel, SAIL and NMDC. — PTI