SteelMint’s month-wise steel capacity expansion data reveals that in Nov’21 around 2.4 million tonnes (mn t) of pellet production capacity and 300,000 t of crude steelmaking capacity in the country received environment clearance (EC) from the government as well as the consent to establish (CTE).
Notably, new technology is envisaged for projects at the CTE stage of clearance. Such projects have received approval for existing unit capacity expansion through process optimisation, modification and increase in operational days.
Existing unit capacity expansion through installation of new machinery and equipment also falls under CTE, which is followed by the consent to operate (CTO).
Apart from crude steel, new blast furnace capacity expansion with CTE in Nov stands at 400,000 t, while 1.28 million tonnes (mn t) of long steel rolling capacity has received necessary approval.
Further upstream, 2.4 mn t of pellet making capacity has received clearance in Nov along with 800,000 t of sponge iron (DRI) production capacity. About 200,000 t of new coke production capacity has also been accorded clearance.
SteelMint data shows that mills in different states with nearly 70 mn t of new pellet capacity have received the nod to set up production facilities in the Jan-Nov’21 period. India’s pellet capacity stands at around 110 mn t at present.
Steel capacity
Data shows that out of a combined crude steel capacity of around 26 mn t that received CTE during Jan-Nov, about 17.5 mn t – or 67% – comes from the induction and electric arc furnace (IF + EAF) route. The share of the integrated BF-BOF route is 8.5 mn t, or roughly 33% of new capacity.
According to data from the Joint Plant Committee (JPC) under the Ministry of Steel (MoS), India’s crude steel capacity stands at 143.91 mn t.
Also, 17.9 mn t of finished long steel – rebar, wire rod, etc. – capacity received approval during the 11 months of 2021, while HRC and CRC combined add up to 6.7 mn t during the period.
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