Lok Sabha Question No. 311 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2017-12-18
Subject: Production of Iron Ore and Steel
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.311 FOR ANSWER ON 18/12/2017

## PRODUCTION OF IRON ORE AND STEEL

311. SHRI JANARDAN SINGH SIGRIWAL:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state:

- (a) the details of the total quantum of iron ore and steel produced and imported along  with  the  per  capita  consumption  of  steel  in  the  country  during  the  last  three years and the current year;
- (b) the estimated demand and supply projections of iron ore and steel separately for the public and private sectors during the next three years;
- (c) the  steps  taken/proposed  to  be  taken  by  the  Government  to  meet  the projected demands;
- (d) whether the import of iron ore has increased during the said period and if so, the details thereof and the reasons therefor; and
- (e) whether the steel prices in the country are higher as compared to the other major  steel  producing  countries  and  if  so,  the  reasons  therefor  along  with  the corrective steps taken by the Government in this regard?

## ANSWER

THE MINISTER OF STATE FOR STEEL

- (a) The details are as under:-

| Year    | Iron ore Production (mt)   | Import of Iron Ore (mt)   | Finished Steel Production (mt)   | Import of finished steel (mt)   | Per capita Consumption of steel (Kg)   |
|---------|----------------------------|---------------------------|----------------------------------|---------------------------------|----------------------------------------|
| 2014-15 | 128.91                     | 12.09                     | 92.16                            | 9.32                            | 61                                     |
| 2015-16 | 155.59                     | 7.09                      | 90.98                            | 11.71                           | 64                                     |
| 2016-17 | 192.18*                    | 4.60                      | 101.81                           | 7.23                            | 65                                     |
| 2017-18 | 93.75*#                    | 2.82*                     | 61.26*@                          | 4.92*@                          | ---                                    |

(Source:  Production  of  iron  ore  -  IBM,  Import  of  iron  ore  -  DGFT/Deptt.  of Commerce,  Production  &  Import  of  finished  steel  -  JPC,  *  Provisional,  #  AprilSeptember 2017-18, @ April-October 2017-18, mt - Million Tonnes)

(b) Steel being deregulated sector, demand and supply projections of iron ore and steel  separately  for  the  public  and  private  sectors  are  not  maintained.  However, overall projections on iron ore requirement, domestic steel demand /production have been made for long term (2030-31) in the National Steel Policy, 2017 as follows:-

| Year    |   Iron ore Requirement (mt) |   Total finished steel demand/production (mt) |
|---------|-----------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| 2030-31 |                         437 |                                           230 |

(SHRI VISHNU DEO SAI)

(c) The  Government  has  amended  the  Mines  and  Mineral  Development  & Regulation (Amendment) Act, 2015 and the Coal Mines (Special Provision) Act, 2015 and introduced the National Steel Policy, 2017 which seek to address concerns on issues related to raw materials and finished steel.

(d) Data on import of iron ore indicates declining trend. The details of import of iron ore are as under:-

| Year                                          | iron ore imports (mt)                         |
|-----------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------|
| 2014-15                                       | 12.09                                         |
| 2015-16                                       | 7.09                                          |
| 2016-17*                                      | 4.60                                          |
| April-Sept. 2017*                             | 2.82                                          |
| Source: DGFT/Deptt. of Commerce; *provisional | Source: DGFT/Deptt. of Commerce; *provisional |

(e) In  a  deregulated  steel  sector,  the  role  of  Government  is  limited  to  that  of  a facilitator for creating a conducive environment for the growth of steel industry in the country.  Production,  sale,  fixation  of  price  on  various  steel  items  etc.  are  the  sole decision of individual steel producers depending on various commercial considerations including market dynamics. However, data on prices of imported Steel (Landed Cost) and domestic market price (Delhi market) of items of finished steel are as follows which indicates that domestic prices of Steel items are lower than prices of imported steel (Landed cost):-

| Year 2016-17     | Items (Rs./t)   | Items (Rs./t)                          |
|------------------|-----------------|----------------------------------------|
|                  | (a) Landed Cost | (b) Retail market price (Delhi market) |
| TMT 10mm         | 35830           | 35237                                  |
| HRC 2.0 mm       | 39577           | 38825                                  |
| GP Sheets 0.63mm | 52356           | 48950                                  |

Source: JPC

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