The Union steel ministry has started industry consultations to frame India’s first stainless steel policy. The policy will aim to raise domestic capacity by nearly fivefold by 2047, from the current 6.6 million tonnes (mt) to 30 mt.
A key objective of the policy is to reduce dependence on China for nickel, silicon and chromium, which are used to make stainless steel.
The stainless steel policy is being considered at a time the government is planning to build long-term infrastructure with significant use of the alloy. Crisil Research estimates stainless steel consumption to reach 13 mt by FY40 and 20 mt by FY47. Per capita consumption is also estimated to reach about 12kg by 2047 from 2.5kg now.
The industry expects the demand from Railways to be more than triple by FY25 and constitute 25% of the incremental demand for metal between FY23 and FY25. The Union budget has doubled the amount earmarked for manufacturing railway coaches to 47,500 crore for FY24.
Another sector expected to contribute to stainless steel demand is renewable energy, including solar and wind power plants.