India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has urged the Indian steel industry to reduce the country's reliance on imports of special steel products, according to Indian news agency Press Trust of India. The prime minister emphasized the need to seek new technologies for manufacturing special steel grades.
Prime Minister Singh said that India is likely to become world's second biggest steelmaker thanks to ongoing capacity additions, though he added that the country's per capita steel production is much lower compared to the global average of 215 kilograms. He also pointed out quality-related issues in respect of several critical steel products produced and sold in the country.