The steel ministry has finalised a plan for specialty steel manufacturing under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme. The ministry has proposed a three incentive slab of 3 percent, 6 percent and 9 percent. The PLI per company will be subject to a ceiling of Rs 200 crore and the outlay for specialty steel is marked Rs 6,322 crore for the five-year period.

In an exclusive interview to CNBC-TV18, Anil Kumar Chaudhary, Chairman of Steel Authority of India (SAIL) said that there will be a thrust on increasing production with the PLI scheme.

“We have been looking for the PLI scheme for a long time and this is a welcome step. As the scheme stands today, from steel sector four products have been covered – coated steel, high stand steel and alloy steel bars and rods. Many of the products are already being manufactured by the steel companies within the country, but with PLI, it will give thrust on increasing production and also more investment will go in these sectors. I think this is going to help the steel sector in a long way in getting the import substitute products manufactured within the country,” he said in an interview to CNBC-TV18.

According to Chaudhary, migrating to BS-VI would need specialised steel. “Migrating to BS-VI would require the weight of the vehicles to be reduced. For that, they need the high stand and low weight auto-grade steel which is Advanced High-Strength Steels (AHSS). Currently, not many companies are able to manufacture it within the country, but as we go ahead the steel companies will be able to develop this within the country. Also, high stand steel is also one of the items under PLI and when we go ahead, this auto grade steel, particularly AHSS grade, will find a place in the list of high stand steel. So, that will also incentivize steel manufacturers to develop this steel within the country and supply to auto manufacturers,” he said.

On divestment of SAIL, he said that there has been no information from the government side.

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(Edited by : Abhishek Jha)