Lok Sabha Question No. 4365 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2021-03-22
Subject: Decline in Steel Demand During Pandemic
Ministry: STEEL
Asked by: S. Muniswamy, M.K. Vishnu Prasad, Pritam Gopinath Munde

THE MINISTER OF STEEL

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF STEEL

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.4365 FOR ANSWER ON 22/03/2021

## DECLINE IN STEEL DEMAND DURING PANDEMIC

4365.  SHRI S. MUNISWAMY:

DR. VISHNU PRASAD M.K.:

DR. PRITAM GOPINATHRAO MUNDE:

Will the Minister of STEEL be pleased to state:

- (a) whether there has been a sharp decline in the demand of steel products due to global Corona Pandemic and if so, the details thereof;
- (b) whether any State has got affected the most by the same and if so, the details thereof, particularly in case of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Karnataka States; and
- (c) whether the Government has formulated any action plan/ package to tackle the situation and if so, the details thereof ?

## ANSWER

(SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

- (a) The demand/consumption of finished steel in the country had sharply reduced during the period from April to June, 2020 following the Corona Pandemic. With the gradual  unlocking  measures  undertaken  by  the  government,  the  consumption  of finished steel has since recovered and even crossed the previous year's level during the recent months. The details of consumption of finished steel during April, 2020  February, 2021 and CPLY are given in the table below:-
- (b) The  State-wise  consumption  figures  are  not  maintained.  However,  various States  have  been  adversely  affected  by  the  Corona  Pandemic  related  lockdown restrictions and associated disruptions such as raw material scarcity, transportation related  issues,  limited  availability  of  manpower  and  reduced  demand  for  finished steel.

| Consumption of Finished Steel (in million tonnes)   | Consumption of Finished Steel (in million tonnes)   | Consumption of Finished Steel (in million tonnes)   |
|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|-----------------------------------------------------|
| Month                                               | FY 2019-20                                          | FY 2020-21                                          |
| April                                               | 7.33                                                | 1.09                                                |
| May                                                 | 8.85                                                | 4.79                                                |
| June                                                | 8.59                                                | 6.35                                                |
| July                                                | 8.57                                                | 7.69                                                |
| August                                              | 9.19                                                | 8.16                                                |
| September                                           | 8.45                                                | 8.46                                                |
| October                                             | 8.83                                                | 9.38*                                               |
| November                                            | 7.77                                                | 9.17*                                               |
| December                                            | 8.65                                                | 10.16*                                              |
| January                                             | 9.17                                                | 9.70*                                               |
| February                                            | 8.55                                                | 9.13*                                               |
| Source: Joint Plant Committee (JPC); *provisional   | Source: Joint Plant Committee (JPC); *provisional   | Source: Joint Plant Committee (JPC); *provisional   |

(c) To  increase  the  domestic  production,  availability  and  usage  of  steel,  in  the light of Corona Pandemic, the Government has taken the following measures:-

(i) Ministry of Steel has held several rounds of consultations during the lockdown period  with  various  stakeholders  including  industry  associations  and  leaders  of domestic  steel  industry  to  address  their  issues  including  those  arising  due  to lockdown by taking up the same with the concerned Ministries/Departments of the Central  Government  and  State  Governments.  Guidelines  issued  by  the  Ministry  of Home  Affairs  from  time to time have  facilitated speedy  resumption  of  steel production.  The  Ministry  of  Steel  has  also  organized  the  following  Webinars  with relevant stakeholders to enhance the overall demand for steel in the country:-

- (a) Oil and Gas Sector, 16 th June, 2020.
- (b) Ispati Irada, Enhancing Steel Usage, 30 th June, 2020.
- (c) Housing and Civil Aviation Sector, 18 th August, 2020.
- (d) Agriculture, Rural Development, Dairying and Food Processing Sectors, 20 th October, 2020.

(ii) Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Products (DMI&SP) Policy, has been suitably amended vide notification dated 31 st December, 2020, in order to align it to the  revised  Public  Procurement  (Preference  to  Make  in  India)  Order  2017.  The minimum value addition has been enhanced from 15% to 20% and the policy is now applicable  to  all  procurement  above  Rupees  5  lakhs  and  includes  EPC  contracts among other changes.

(iii) Inclusion  of  'specialty  steel'  under  the  Production  Linked  Incentive  (PLI) Scheme recently  announced  by  the  Government  to  help  attract  capital  investment and production of specialty steel in the country.

(iv) The  Government,  vide  Notification  dated  01 st October,  2020,  has  allowed domestic steel producers to provide steel under four product categories (Hot Rolled Coil, Cold Rolled Coil, Wire Rods and Alloy Steel Bars) to MSME members of EEPC at an export parity price.

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