Visakhapatnam: Sustainable measures to improve quality, reduce carbon emissions

Sustainability is certainly the 'new code' and the steel sectors should work on it by adopting new technologies, improving the quality of raw materials and bringing down wastage to reduce carbon emissions, Chairman of CII National Steel Committee and Joint Managing Director and Group CFO MVS Seshagiri Rao said.

Addressing the gathering virtually in the second edition of the Confederation of Indian Industry's (CII) 'Sustainability in Steel Sector – 2021' that focused on the theme 'sustainable business strategies – impact of raw materials and logistics', Mr. Seshagiri Rao underlined the need to explore the possibilities of improving the existing process through increased steel scrap usage rather than shifting completely to hydrogen-based steelmaking.

India has a huge advantage in terms of not only meeting domestic demand which is fast growing but also exploring opportunities available for the country to export, he stated. "Another advantage is that India's steel price is relatively lower compared to the global prices and it would be viable to buy the steel, convert into value added products and export," he continued.

Expressing confidence over demand growth driven by the energy transition, Mr. Seshagiri Rao said industries should work on improving efficiencies, adopting new technologies.

Speaking on the occasion, CMD of RINL Atul Bhatt said despite the pandemic, the global steel demand grew by around 4.5 percent and would continue to grow in the next few years. "India is all set to take a dominant role in the global steel industry and the steel industry in India and is showing encouraging signs of growth in the Indian economy," he observed.

Addressing the participants, advisor, YSR Steel Corporation Limited P Madhusudan said, "If we look at the per capita steel consumption in India, it is hovering around 70-kg compared to the global averages of 210 to 220-kg. It indicates the kind of potential that exists in the country for growth in steel consumption."

Chairman of CII Andhra Pradesh D Tirupathi Raju, Director (Commercial) RINL DK Mohanty and immediate past chairman of CII, Vizag J Srinivasa Raju, among others spoke.