Calling for the need to look at time-bound outcomes on the usage of steel slag, the Steel Ministry has underlined the significance of bringing the industry on board for achieving the objective.
Secretary in the Ministry of Steel, G Mohan Kumar, who inaugurated a seminar on usage of steel slag organised by industry body FICCI on Friday, said, “there should be a paradigm shift in our approach. We need a sustained effort on what is possible... The industry needs to come together on this issue.”Steel slag is a co-product generated during the steel making process. It is used as an aggregate in many industries, with a high rate of adoption globally, especially in the United States, the European Union, China and Brazil. Its high abrasion resistance, soundness characteristics, high bearing strength and basicity make it suitable to be used as ballast for railways as well as in road making as a replacement for natural aggregate.
Presenting the view of the steel industry, Sandeep Kumar, Executive-In-Charge, (Secondary Products), Tata Steel, said, “the usage of steel slag for various applications is an established practice globally and should be adopted in India keeping in mind the economic and environmental benefits at large.”Meanwhile allaying skepticism about International Coal Ventures ltd (ICVl) - the joint venture vehicle consisting of high profile State-owned entities like SAIl, NTPC, Coal India ltd (CIl), NMDC and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam ltd (RINl) - Kumar claimed that the special purpose vehicle is actively looking at acquiring assets abroad.
Steel Secretary G Mohan Kumar told media persons on the side lines of the seminar that “ICVl is very actively looking around. It is looking at various possibilities. You will come to know about it”.He however did not give any specific deadline regarding what could be ICVl's maiden acquisition, saying that it is at a nascent stage.Formed in 2009, ICVl, a consortium of state-run firms for acquiring coal mines abroad, had set a target to own 500 million tonnes of coking coal reserves by 2019-20. However till date it has failed to finalise a single acquisition despite several attempts by its constituents.
The country's steel sector currently imports about 30 million tonnes of coking coal and with the rising capacity, the demand for the key input is expected to rise further in the coming days. ICVl's acquisition is expected to help in this regard.Among the public sector steel makers, RINl depends entirely on coking coal imports to meet its demand and SAIl imports 75 per cent of its needs from abroad. Talking on steel demand, Kumar said it was expected to be better in the current fiscal.
“I am very optimistic about the market. It is not that steel will come to a standstill. Steel consumption will be better this year than the last year,” he said.India's steel consumption grew by just 0.6 per cent last fiscal, the lowest in four years, to 73.93 million tonnes, mainly impacted by a slower expansion of the domestic economy and lower imports.