Kolkata:
The steel ministry was in favour of a second round of the PLI
scheme for production of speciality steel, Union steel secretary
Nagendra Nath Sinha said at an interaction with members of Bharat Chamber of
Commerce here on Saturday. Sinha said in the current PLI scheme, there were 25
verticals and 57 MoUs had been signed with a combined investment proposal of Rs
29,500 crore.
The steel secretary also stressed the need for expediting the reduction of
carbon emission. He said an application had been filed for a national
consortium of steel-makers, govt and others for hydrogen-based DRI units. He
said using hydrogen as fuel could be expensive but, going forward,
India would be in a position to avail economies of scale in hydrogen
production. “Per unit of solar power at one point of time was Rs 14-15 but now
it has been reduced to Rs 2. So, eventually, we have to move to hydrogen for
primary fuel of steel-making to reduce carbon emission,” Sinha said.
According to the steel secretary, carbon emission in the industry was 2.5kg per
ton; this should be brought down to 2.1kg by 2030 as the global standard was
much below 2kg. The steel industry accounts for 12% of the total carbon
emission in the country.
Earlier, Bharat Chamber president N G Khaitan expre-ssed concern at the amounts
of steel imported from China, Vietnam and Indonesia. tnn