The Indian economy is looking good because of its focus on infrastructure at a time when many other global economies look fragile, Managing Director of Tata Steel CEO TV Narendran said on April 12.

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In an exclusive interaction with CNBC-TV18, Narendran said steel consumption should reflect in the GDP growth rate, which also depends on capacities that companies build. He said Tata Steel is in the midst of a 5 MT expansion which is likely to be completed this financial year and shall benefit the company in the next fiscal.

He stressed on the need for hydrogen to be available in plenty and priced appropriately for it to become a substitute for coal. He believes it won't make economic sense unless green hydrogen is available at less than $2/kilo.

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With a costly and complex transition process involved, he said the industry needs to be encouraged in a direction which will need a huge capital deployment, leading to a rise in operating costs.

On Tata Steel's European operations not faring well in FY 23, he said it continues to be a bit of a challenge though things have improved with a fall in gas prices. He added that the situation is better in India too with a fall in electricity prices and improvement in steel prices. As Tata Steel has realigned one of its blast furnaces in the Netherlands, he said that the impact will play out in the April to June quarter as well, though Narendran expects the second half of the year to be better.

Pointing to the need to look at FTAs and the associated consequences on the Indian industry, he said many FTAs signed in the past had led to more steel imports than exports, while supporting more steel exports from India.

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