India’s Ministry of Steel is seeking collaboration between government-owned and private sector steel plants to set up a string of pilot plant to develop domestic cold rolled grain oriented (CRGO) production capabilities, a ministry official said on Monday, January 25.
The official said that the government will also be willing to partially fund the costs of such pilot plants if Indian government-owned and private sector steel companies collaborate to develop domestic CRGO making capabilities. The Ministry of Steel is considering creating a fund of $22 million for the development of indigenous CRGO technology and the government will be willing to increase this funding if public-private participation for the development of technology gains pace.
The ministry official stated that state-owned steel producers like Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) drew up plans for CRGO steel making facilities, but these has not made much headway as the few international steel companies which have the technology are not willing to transfer it to steel companies in India.
India’s annual CRGO steel demand is estimated at 250,000 mt and is currently met entirely through imports.