Bhubaneswar: Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy on Thursday inaugurated a two-day workshop (Chintan Shivir) in Bhubaneswar for an intensive dialogue on the future of India’s steel industry.
In his address, Kumaraswamy expressed gratitude to Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi for his strategic leadership, guiding the domestic steel industry on a path of resilience and growth. He underlined the pivotal role of the steel sector in nation-building and reiterated the government’s commitment to strengthening capacity, fostering innovation and promoting self-reliance.
He also highlighted the importance of adopting technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning and Digitalization to enhance competitiveness and operational excellence. He emphasised the need for sustained investment in research and development and affirmed that collective efforts of all stakeholders will ensure the overall growth and competitiveness of India’s steel industry, contributing significantly to the nation’s progress.
Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma, who was present on the occasion, highlighted the vital role of steel in driving infrastructure development and noted that all themes of Chintan Shivir are directed towards enhancing the industry and strengthening its contribution to national growth.
Senior officials of the Ministry, along with heads of CPSEs from SAIL, NMDC, MOIL, MECON, MSTC, domain experts from INSDAG, ISCA, BISAG, representatives from private industries like TATA Steel, JSW also joined the deliberations.
On Wednesday, the Union Steel Minister had announced plans to double the capacity of Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Odisha to 9.8 million tonnes by 2030 with an investment of about Rs 30,000 crore. “We are also taking up modernisation of the plant for about Rs 9,000 crore to ensure that RSP remains globally competitive and future-ready,” he said.
During his visit to the steel plant, Kumaraswamy also inaugurated the modern 1 million tonnes per annum Slab Caster at Steel Melting Shop-2, constructed with a Capex of approximately Rs 1,100 crore, and inspected progress at the Coke Oven Battery 7 and the new Pellet Plant currently under construction.
He emphasised that the Ministry was working closely with the Odisha Government. “The Chief Minister has assured full support of the state government to help us achieve Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of reaching 300 million tonnes of steel capacity by 2030,” he said after calling on CM Mohan Majhi at the Lokseva Bhawan here later in the day.
They held a detailed review of steel-related developments in the state, particularly the expansion of RSP in presence of Union Minister for Tribal Affairs Jual Oram.
Though SAIL approved the modernisation and expansion of RSP in 2021 with a goal to more than double its capacity to around 9.3 MTPA by 2030 at an investment of approximately Rs 30,000 crore, it is yet to proceed due to land related issues.
The meeting also discussed land allocation for establishing an airport in Rourkela.
