Tata Steel, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (AM/NS India) and JSW Steel are among around 75 firms that have shown interests in the Rs 6,322-crore production-linked incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel.
“The response has been very good. Both large integrated players like Tata Steel, JSW Steel, JSPL and SAIL and a clutch of secondary players have evinced interests. The total number of applications would be around 75,” said a Steel Ministry source.
Specialty steel is value-added variety wherein normal finished steel is worked upon by way of coating, plating, heat treatment, etc to convert it into high value-added steel for use in various strategic sectors such as defence, space, power, and automobiles, among others. India meets the domestic with imports with an annual forex outgo of around Rs 30,000 crore.
The objective of the PLI scheme is to promote manufacturing of specialty steel grades within the country and help the Indian steel industry mature in terms of technology as well as move up the value chain. The Union Cabinet approved the scheme on July 22, 2021 and it was notified on July 29.
Coated products, high-strength steel, specialty rails, alloy steel products and electrical steel are the five broad target categories under the scheme.
The government had set September 15 as the deadline after several extensions for receiving proposals from manufacturers for benefits under the PLI scheme. The Centre has already deferred by a year the implementation of the scheme. Instead of 2022-23, the five-year scheme will now commence from 2023-24. FE
