India is a land of opportunity, don’t miss it: Prime Minister tells Captains of Steel Industry

The Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh has assured the captains of steel industry that the government will extend all help to overcome the hurdles some investors are facing. The Prime Minister was delivering the inaugural address at the Steel Summit - 2007 here today. He said, the government has taken many steps to improve the business environment in India and expressed his satisfaction that recent surveys and indices of business confidence have shown growing confidence in India. He said, the government is committed to a policy of growth with equity and social responsibility and the needs of the industry including the requirement of land must be balanced against larger social concerns with respect to equitable development and inclusive growth. The Prime Minister said, development of modern industry should be a societal goal which, he said, can be ensured only when every section of society is convinced that it has benefited from the growth process.

He said, we have to recognize that in a country like ours where the average size of landholding is so small, there are limitations to what you can do to improve agricultural productivity. Dr. Singh said, the longterm solution to the problem of agrarian distress has to be to take the people away from agriculture, to manufacturing, to service and other non-agriculture pursuits. Reminding the industry leaders of their national responsibility, the Prime Minister said, they must reinvest in the national effort.

About the challenges facing the steel industry, the Prime Minister said, there is arising demand for better quality steel and growing competition. He said, the steel industry has benefited from a thorough overhaul of policy regime. While commending the business leaders for their global vision and reach, he urged them to pay equal attention to opportunities at home. He asked the Mittals and Tatas and all others who are eyeing global opportunities to also invest more at home. India is a land of opportunity. Don’t miss it, the Prime Minister said.

Addressing the gathering, the Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers Shri Ram Vilas Paswan said, the consumption of steel is growing at over 10 percent over the 10th plan period and expected the trend to continue. He said, India will become the second largest steel producer in the world by 2020 with a production capacity of nearly 200 million tones. He said, lower average consumption at nearly 38 Kgs per capita leaves enough scope for the consumption to rise. The present consumption of steel compares unfavourably with about 250 Kgs in China and 170 Kgs globally. Shri Paswan said, the government has formulated a National Steel Policy and in the process of finalizing a new mining policy which he said, will give a boost to the steel sector. The Minister said, he has asked the Public Sector companies to adopt the best technology and complimented the domestic manufacturers for helping to reduce the prices of some of their products.

The Minister of State for Steel Dr. Akhilesh Das said, several global companies have evinced interest in the Indian steel sector. 156 MOUs have been signed by foreign and domestic companies with different state governments to set up steel plants. Emphasizing that we must now concentrate on value addition, he said, we must look for Joint Ventures, Technology transfers from other countries in these areas. He said, our motto should be we not only make the best steel but also the cheapest.

Over 150 leaders from global steel majors are attending the two day steel summit organized by the Confederation of Indian Industry and the Ministry of Steel.

Source : Press Information Bureau

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