PM’s Australia trip to ease ore, coal imports: HD Kumaraswami

India, world’s second largest steel producer, currently focused on modernisation and sustained reforms of its plant and installations to secure a pivotal role in the global steel value chain, is ambitious to ensure 46 per cent participation by the private sector players in its target to achieve 300 million tonnes by 2030, Steel minister HD Kumaraswami told The Statesman here this afternoon.

Kumaraswami said: “We are committed to secure our Prime Minister’s goal achieving 300 MT where we are sincerely banking on the private steel makers, especially the secondary steel plants, as they are likely to contribute at least 46 per cent of our targeted volume. They are also doing well.” The Steel Authority of India, country’s national steel major, producing at 20.63 million tonnes now, Kumaraswami said: “Will align with 35 million tonnes benchmark, the way the roadmap is being laid out.”

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Currently, India is producing at 155 MT annually and is struggling high to cope up with the indiscriminate import of cheaper Chinese steel, especially the value-added products, which has risen over 30 per cent year-over-year and the Union minister stressed for imposing further tightened safeguard measures like enhanced duty and stringent BIS-QCO (Bureau of Indian Standards-Quality Control Order) on imported Chinese steel.

Besides, the minister has urged adoption of flexible policies to encourage the domestic producers to grab the opportunities as country’s 2026 Budget has given substantial infra-push leveraging for more domestic steel supply sans price spikes. “This,” Kumaraswami said: “Certainly is going to give a boost in domestic production shortly.”

Domestic steel makers, however are often failing to negotiate with the soaring iron ore prices, besides, 80 per cent of coking coal needed by steel units, is still imported. Coking coal processed at high temperatures into carbon-rich porous fuel acts as chemical reducing agent in steel making process. India imports such coal mainly from countries like Australia, USA, Russia Indonesia and Mozambique.

For iron ore, India banks on Australia and Canada. The Steel minister told The Statesman: “Our Prime Minister recently visited Australia and has initiated primary talks to ease out routes for both ~ ore and coal, which will reduce difficulties soon, I suppose.”