India has added an aggregate of 8.35 million mt of crude steel production capacity during the financial year 2015-16, according to a statement made by Indian steel minister Chaudhary Birendra Singh before the Indian parliament.
The minister said that, despite the global overcapacity and major steel producing nations selling their products cheaper in India putting strains on the margins of domestic steel mills, Indian steel sector growth has continued to have significant upside potential given per capita steel consumption standing at 61 kg against a global average of 208 kg.
However, in a separate report issued by the Ministry of Steel, India’s steel consumption in July this year declined for the second consecutive month by seven percent to 6.3 million mt, while imports in the given month totaled 561,000 mt, down 46 percent, both compared to the corresponding month of the previous year.