Ranchi: MECON Limited, along with SAIL, under the aegis of the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, organized a two-day international conference on steel (ICONS-2024): Focus on Capital Goods on 30th & 31st May 2024 at Ranchi.

The objective of the conference was to bring together the brightest minds and leading stakeholders from across the steel industry, including technology providers, steel producers, manufacturers, academia, and more to foster new partnerships, explore innovative solutions, and drive forward the future of the steel industry.

Sanjay Kumar Verma, CMD-MECON, welcomed all the dignitaries and set the context of the conference. The inaugural session of the conference was attended by Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary-Ministry of Steel, GoI; Sukriti Likhi, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, MoS; Abhijit Narendra, Joint Secretary MoS; Sanjay Roy, Joint Secretary, MoS; Amitava Mukherjee, CMD-NMDC; Ajit Kumar Saxena, CMD-MOIL; Sanjay Kumar Verma, CMD & Director Commercial (Additional Charge)-MECON; and Amarendu Prakash, Chairman-SAIL. Some dignitaries also joined virtually through video conference. CMD-SAIL, CMD-MOIL, and CMD-NMDC addressed the gathering.

In the special address, Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary-MoS, GoI, said that today meticulous project planning and timely execution have become one of the biggest challenges for the steel projects being set up in India. He stressed the need to find innovative ways of timely executing our projects to keep steel projects healthy and ensure their long-term sustainability. He also emphasized that new ways of working, new ideas, and new talents need to be inducted to revive the heavy industry sector.

Abhijit Narendra, Joint Secretary-MoS, GoI, said that although we are second in steel production, we have limitations in making machinery for the steel industry. He stressed the need to create an ecosystem containing all the stakeholders.

CMD-NMDC mentioned that India is the 5th largest economy, and we are the most young and vibrant nation. India is basically a service sector-based nation. The manufacturing sector needs to grow substantially, and areas should be identified categorically. Constant interaction is needed between technology providers and technology buyers to educate each other on the possibilities and requirements of the future.

CMD-MOIL said that the capital goods sector is a very strategic part of the economy. The capital goods sector is considered the mother of the manufacturing sector. He emphasized that integrated steel plants shall have big engineering workshops.

CMD-SAIL said that considering the volatility in the world, we need to focus on supply chain security since securing the supply chain is becoming more and more difficult. He emphasized the development of a comprehensive and sustainable ecosystem for the production of indigenized capital goods.

CMD-MECON spoke about the National Steel Policy (NSP)-2017 and elaborated that as per the policy target to reach the 300 Mt steel capacity, about 138-139 Mt of new capacity is estimated to be added in the next 7-8 years, involving a huge investment of US$120-130 billion from the Indian steel industry. There will be a likely import of about 15-20% of steel plant equipment from foreign countries. Given the current situation, where the import content and value rise as we move up the value chain, about $18-20 billion worth of imported equipment is likely to be sourced from abroad besides spares worth about US$400-500 million.

To strengthen domestic manufacturing, it is vital to explore strategies like technology transfer or international technology providers establishing manufacturing units in India.

The first day of the conference also covered four technical sessions:

• Trends and challenges in coke making technology
• Trends and challenges in agglomeration technology
• Trends and challenges in iron making technology
• Trends and challenges in steel making technology

Senior representatives from manufacturing companies, iron & steel producers, equipment suppliers, and engineering & consultancy companies were present during the day-long conference. Participation of academia signified the collaborative willingness to take up the challenges. /BI