Quality Control Order to Soon Cover all Steel Products – Indian Steel Minister

The quality control order backed by Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) ratings will soon cover all steel products said the Minister for Steel, Shri Chaudhary Birender Singh today (25 October 2018) at Steel Conclave organized by Indian steel Association (ISA) in New Delhi.

Inaugurating the conclave, Singh said, “Sixteen more steel products have been brought under the ambit of the quality control, taking the percentage of steel products under quality regime to 86%. Our goal of 100% quality in steel industry is not far now.”

Responding to queries regarding a recent report noting the rampant usage of inferior quality Thermo-Mechanically Treated (TMT) bars, Singh said, “We have introduced Bureau of Indian Standards specifications to cover almost 86 percent of all steel products. The way things are going these issues will soon be eliminated.”

The two-day forum opened today at The Lalit in New Delhi, bringing over 150 delegates and speakers including steel industry giants from JSW Group, Tata Steel, JSPL, Steel Authority of India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Lt, Essar Group among others. 

Emphasizing on the sector’s growth and crude steel production capacity which went up by 6% from last year, Shri Birender Singh said: “2018 has been a year of new beginnings for the industry. In the first quarter, we surpassed Japan to become the second largest producer of steel in the world. We also achieved 52 MnT of crude steel production which was up by 6% from last year. The industry now needs to be more pro-active in introducing quality innovations that attract global opportunities and consumers. ”

Also voicing industry challenges, Mr T.V. Narendran, Global CEO & Managing Director, Tata Steel Ltd: ”All developed countries have strong equipment manufacturing set-up and this is the kind of eco-system we need to create in India. The industry needs to learn from the auto sector who has achieved tremendous scale and productivity in last 25 years. We need to build capacities which are environment friendly and sustainable. This event was the need of the hour to take up challenges that can create inclusive growth.”

Indian steel production capacity is targeted to touch 300 MnT by 2030.