Housing schemes, defence needs to push steel demand: Minister
Bengaluru, June 29: Demand for steel is expected to grow for meeting the needs of the state-run flagship schemes like Make in India, housing projects and the defence sector, said Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh on Friday.
"Demand for value-added and sophisticated grade of steel is expected to grow to meet the needs of state initiatives like Make in India, Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana, Pradhan Mantri Gramin Vikas Yojana and the defence sector," he told reporters after the National Steel Consumers' Council meeting here.
With per capita consumption of steel in India at around 68 kg, it stands at less than a third of the global average consumption of around 208 kg, the Minister noted.
"The issues of demand, supply, product innovations and logistics require serious deliberations. The Consumers' Council needs to draw the expected roadmap of logistics for seeking priority attention of policy makers," he added.
Steel contributes about 2 per cent to the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
"The state has identified infrastructure as a priority sector, which is bound to bolster the GDP growth rate. Considering the advantages of steel-based structures like lower lifecycle and high design flexibility, steel is a major material in infrastructure development," added Singh.
The Union government's programmes including Smart Cities Mission, Housing for All, Atal Mission for Rejuvenation and Urban Transformation and modernisation of defence sector are expected to use domestic steel, the Minister said.
"These initiatives will provide the additional push to increase the domestic steel demand in short-to-medium term," he added.
There is, however, a need for the industry and steel consumers to work together to promote the usage of steel in hilly areas, railways and development of special grades for energy and medical purposes etc, Singh said.
During the Consumers' Council meeting, a mobile app of the state-run MSTC Ltd, an e-commerce undertaking of the Ministry of Steel, was launched in order to bring buyers and sellers closer.
Minister of State for Steel Vishnu Deo Sai was also present on the occasion.
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RR beat RCB by six wickets in IPL
Guwahati (PTI): Blistering fifties by Vaibhav Sooryavanshi and Dhruv Jurel powered Rajasthan Royals to a six-wicket win over Royal Challengers Bengaluru in their IPL match here on Friday.
Sent in to bat, RCB rode on a fighting half-century by skipper Rajat Patidar (63) to post 201 for 8.
Virat Kohli (32), Romario Shepherd (22) and Venkatesh Iyer (29) also chipped in with useful contributions.
In reply, Sooryavanshi (78 off 26 balls) and Dhruv Jurel (81 not out off 43 balls) shared a 37-ball 108-run partnership for the second wicket to set the platform. Krunal Pandya (2/30) tried to bring them back with back-to-back wickets.
But Jurel, in the company of Ravindra Jadeja (24), completed the task with another 68-run stand, with two overs to spare.
For RR, Jofra Archer (2/33), Ravi Bishnoi (2/32) and Brijesh Sharma (2/37) took two wickets.
Brief scores:
Royal Challengers Bengaluru: 201 for 8 in 20 overs (Rajat Patidar 63; Jofra Archer 2/33, Ravi Bishnoi 2/32, Brijesh Sharma 2/37).
Rajasthan Royals: 202 for 4 in 18 overs (Vaibhav Sooryavanshi 78, Dhruv Jurel 80 not out; Krunal Pandya 2/30, Josh Hazlewood 2/44).
