By Aruna Sharma
Stainless steel has a niche use, unique from carbon steel. It can also trigger development in industrial sector. For instance, we can feel of shifting to stainless steel pipes for drinking water network similarly, for anti-rust lengthy lasting use in infrastructure.
India has a capacity to make 50 lakh tonnes of stainless steel flats. The consumption per capita is just 2.5 kg, as against the world typical of 6 kg per capita. One-third of stainless steel manufacturing capacity is in the MSME sector, and two-thirds amongst the private (like Jindal Stainless, Shah Alloys, Rimjhim, BRG and Valley Iron) and the public sector (Salem Stainless Steel plant of SAIL). Surprisingly, all of them work at just 60% of their capacity, not due to low demand, but dumping resorted to via imports, particularly from China.
The MSMEs, with a capacity of 14 lakh tonnes, do melting and hot/cold rolling for creating steel mainly for household usage (utensils, and so forth). The use of stainless steel in the provide chain of distribution network of potable water reduces leakage of water by 24% it is also literary zero-upkeep and is non-carcinogenic. With the present concentrate on expanding drinking water infrastructure, it is essential to opt for the correct material. Besides, stainless steel is broadly made use of in the automotive sector, railways and transport sector, and is a important capital great in dairying, chemical substances, pharmaceutical, meals processing, water therapy sectors, as effectively as nuclear instalments. It also finds usage in elevators, razor blades, surgical instruments and artificial lightweight limbs for differently-abled persons. India, clearly, is on a low-use curve in stainless steel.
The challenge is two-fold. One, to boost consumption from 2.5 kg to 6 kg per capita, and two, to guarantee self-assurance amongst producers to boost their capacity. A duty structure have to be in location to make sure dumping is minimised and that higher-nickel stainless steel does not discover its way into Indian markets. The government has been conscious of the exact same, and the Bureau of Indian Standards is making certain good quality requirements not just for imports, but also for domestic solutions.
The current announcement of suspending the countervailing duty (CVD) on particular stainless steel solutions from China and Indonesia has adversely hit the sector, downscaling the expansion plans to develop into atmanirbhar. The quick will need is to have a holistic strategy towards the stainless steel sector by rising its usage across industries. To trigger additional investments, there is a will need to withdraw the suspension of CVD on China and also to have CVD on Indonesia.
It is a misnomer that the price tag of Indian companies’ stainless steel is larger, as it is in tandem with the boost in rates of raw supplies (mainly imported) and world price tag. It is low-margin manufacturing and any jolt with sudden adjustments in policy adversely impacts indigenisation and good quality manage in the manufacturing of stainless steel. To sum up, boost the usage of stainless steel and guarantee no dumping requires location.
The author is a practitioner improvement economist, and ex-Secretary, GoI