Government to set up steel research and technology body

New Delhi: Government will set up the Steel Research and Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crore and a Governing Board comprising CEOs of participating companies will manage it.

To spearhead research and development activities in the iron and steel industry, the Steel Ministry has been facilitating setting up of this body in association with public and private steel makers.

"The said SRTMI is proposed to be set up with an initial corpus of Rs 200 crore proposed to be contributed by Ministry of Steel and by participating steel companies," Minister of State for Steel and Mines Vishnu Deo Sai said in Rajya Sabha.

Replying to a starred question, the Minister said while leading global steel makers spend 1-2 per cent of their annual sales turnover on R&D, domestic firms spend 0.15-0.3 per cent. "The affairs of SRTMI are proposed to be managed by a governing board comprising chief executive officers of steel and associate companies of the public and private sector, domain experts of national/international repute and a nominee of Ministry of Steel," Sai said.

"The executive functioning of SRTMI is proposed to be carried out by a Director who will be assisted by supporting structure," he added. To a separate question, he said lower global prices and non-availability of certain products are some of the many important reasons for growing steel imports in the country.

He also cited "unwillingness of steel plants to put up certain facilities when domestic demand for a grade is low even though the companies are technically capable of producing the same" as the reason for steel imports in the country.

Steel imports to India has been on the rise since 2009-10. It reached to 5.98 million tonnes (MT) in 2013-14 from 5.368 MT in 2012-13 and 4.58 MT in 2011-12. During the 2010-11 fiscal year, India had imported 3.6 MT steel against compared to 3.2 MT a year ago.