PM Modi names INS Vikrant in high-grade steel manufacturing, highlights PPP

New Delhi: Taking INS Vikrant as an example, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Friday said the country had gained expertise in high-grade steel whose use is increasing in critical strategic applications.

The Prime Minister was virtually speaking during the address at the 'Bhoomi pujan' of the expansion project of ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India's flagship plant at Hazira in Gujarat's Surat district on Friday. The Prime Minister listed the measures to further promote the Indian steel industry. He said the PLI scheme had created new avenues for its growth.

The Prime Minister said that the scientists of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) developed the special steel used in the aircraft carrier. Indian companies produced thousands of metric tons of steel. And INS Vikrant was completely ready with indigenous capability and technology, he said.

Stressing the public-private partnership (PPP) model and Atmanirbhar Bharat for development, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said, "To promote such capability, the country has now set a target of doubling the production capacity of crude steel. We currently produce 154 MT of crude steel."

"It's our goal to double the production of crude steel in India. The government has set a target to achieve 300 million tonne of crude steel production in the upcoming years. The government is promoting circular means of production through public-private partnership (PPP) model."

The Prime Minister said that India is rapidly moving towards becoming the world's largest manufacturing hub and the government is actively engaged in creating the necessary policy environment for the development of this sector. "Due to everyone's efforts in the last eight years, the Indian steel industry has become the second largest steel-producing industry in the world. There is immense potential for development in this industry," he added. (ANI)