India to develop country-specific standards for auto steel

India to develop country-specific standards for auto steel

The Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) will develop standards specific to India for steel to be used in automobiles manufactured in the country, which will be applicable to all automobiles, including two-wheelers and tractors. At a meeting of the Steel Sectoral Coordination Committee chaired by the Steel Secretary, BIS announced that it will try to keep the total number of specifications as low as possible and they would apply to the steel used both outside and inside the automobiles. According to BIS, roughly 60% of the total steel used in the automobile sector is sourced domestically, while the remaining 40% is imported. The major cold-rolled steelmakers that supply steel to the automobile industry include Bhusan Steel, Uttam Steel, and ThyssenKrupp Electrical Steel. Even small differences in specifications require that the entire steel production process be reset and the chemical composition of the hot-rolled steel used for cold-rolling be changed, resulting in major increases in costs for the steelmakers. Following the meeting, which was attended by representatives of the auto industry, major steel producers, and steel-consuming Ministries such as Defense and Railways, BIS stated that it will begin to take action to develop a new set of India-specific standards.