The Production-Linked Investment (PLI) scheme for high-value specialty steel has so far managed to garner investment commitment by different companies for Rs. 27,106 crore.
Out of this amount, Rs. 18,848 crore have been achieved till December 2024, Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma told Parliament on Friday.
Specialty steel production till date up to December 2024 is 12, 58,000 tonnes, he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.
specialty steel PLI scheme was launched. The objective that was set ahead was to enhance the production level of value added steel in India by attracting such investments.
Fifteen are the broad products categories that feature under the head of this very scheme. And these are subdivided into
Coated Steel Products
High Strength Steel, Specialty Rails and Alloy Steel Product & Steel wire and Electrical Steels.
Budget for the next round of its scheme was cleared on January 6,2025.
A dedicated web portal for PLI scheme 1.1 has been launched, and wide publicity through the media has been given to ensure wider participation in the second round, irrespective of the company size, the minister added.
Frequent webinars are being held with companies that express interest to participate in the scheme.
Also, rules of participation in the scheme have been relaxed, for instance, allowing 50 per cent of investment in cases where companies invest in augmentation of existing facilities to participate in the notified sub-categories, he pointed out.
To create a conducive policy environment for boosting the steel sector in the country, the government has undertaken several measures which include promotion of 'Made in India' steel through government procurement.
In order to improve raw material availability and reduce raw material cost for specialty steel, the government has reduced the Basic Customs Duty on Ferro (WA:FROP) Nickel, from 2.5 per cent to zero, making it duty-free and extended the duty exemption on ferrous scrap up to March 31, 2026, the minister explained.
Besides the monitoring and quality control of imports being undertaken to check the dumping of cheap products in the country by foreign companies.
The SIMS has also been revamped for effective monitoring of imports to provide granular details on imports to the domestic steel industry.
Steel Quality Control Orders banning sub-standard steel products in the domestic market as well as imports have also been issued to ensure the availability of quality steel to industry, users and the public at large and encourage the production of specialty steel, the minister added.
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