India pips Japan, becomes second largest manufacturer of crude steel

India pips Japan, becomes second largest manufacturer of crude steel

What has happened?

In a major achievement, India has overtaken Japan to become the world’s second largest producer of crude steel in February, according to the Steel Users Federation of India (SUFI). At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50% of the production

Growth facts

• India’s crude steel production was up 4.4% and stood at 93.11 million tonnes (MT) for the period April 2017 to February 2018, compared with April 2016 to February 2017.
• This had helped India to overtake Japan and become the second largest producer of crude steel in the world, SUFI said in a statement here.

Overtook US in 2015

India overtook the U.S. in 2015 to become the third largest producer of crude steel.

Helping Factors

• Push local demand with initiatives like ‘Make in India’, and implement GST and infrastructure projects, to encourage the domestic market.
• In addition, quick resolution of various big-ticket steel mills under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the National Company Law Tribunal is expected to further hasten the process of achieving higher capacity utilisation