New Delhi, 28 October: Prime Minister Narendra Modi said in a video message on Friday that India is fast moving towards becoming the world’s largest manufacturing hub. The government is proactive in creating the necessary policy environment for the development of the manufacturing sector. Due to everyone’s efforts in the last 8 years, the Indian steel industry has become the second largest steel producing industry in the world. He said that this industry has immense potential for growth.
The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, addressed a gathering on the occasion of the expansion of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India (AM/NS India) Hazira plant through video message today. The Prime Minister said that not only is investment coming through the steel plant, but many new possibilities are also opening up. With an investment of more than 60 thousand crores, many employment opportunities will be created for the youth of Gujarat and the country. After this expansion, the production capacity of crude steel at Hazira Steel Plant will increase from 9 million tonnes to 15 million tonnes.
Underlining the increasing role of the steel industry in the goals of moving towards a developed India by 2047, the Prime Minister said that a strong steel sector leads to a strong infrastructure sector. Similarly, the steel sector is a major contributor to roads, railways, airports, ports, construction, motor vehicles, capital goods and engineering products.
The Prime Minister said that a completely new technology is coming along with expansion in India. This technology will be of great help for the electric vehicle, automobile and other manufacturing sectors. He said, βI am confident that this project of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India will prove to be a milestone in the vision of Make in India. This will give new strength to our efforts for a developed India and self-reliant India in the steel sector.
The Prime Minister listed out the measures to further boost the Indian steel industry. He said that the PLI scheme has created new avenues for its development. Citing the example of INS Vikrant, the Prime Minister pointed out that the country has gained expertise in high grade steel which is increasingly used in critical strategic applications.
The Prime Minister said that DRDO scientists have developed special steel to be used in aircraft carriers. Indian companies produced thousands of metric tons of steel. And INS Vikrant was fully equipped with indigenous capability and technology. To boost such capacity, the country has now set a target of doubling the production capacity of crude steel. Presently we produce 154 MT of crude steel. We aim to achieve 300 MT production capacity in the next 9-10 years.
