Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has said that the demand for steel in the country has seen a substantial increase and is expected to increase further as India embarks to become a USD 5 trillion economy. Addressing the Ministerial Meeting of Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity in Tokyo today, Mr Pradhan said, India’s demand for Steel shall be a driver of its capacity expansion.

The minister said India is committed to spend about USD 1.4 trillion on its infrastructure development in the next five years. He said, all this augurs well for the steel demand in the country.  Mr Pradhan said the government is determined to raise the per capita consumption of steel from its current low of 72 kg per capita to 160 kg per capita by 2030.