India, March 27 -- SMPL

New Delhi [India], March 27: India's steel sector is at a critical juncture, with finished steel imports surging by 20% to 8.29 million tonnes in the April-January period of this fiscal year. Domestic producers are struggling with narrowing profit margins and intensifying competition from foreign players. China, Japan, and South Korea accounted for 79% of these imports, with Chinese shipments alone reaching an eight-year high. This growing reliance on external markets threatens India's long-term industrial stability and calls for urgent support of capacity expansion within the country to avoid any kind of pushback that might stifle domestic growth.

For India to meet its steel demand and reduce import dependence, ...