All steps to be taken to make steel sector competitive: Goyal

Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday said the government will take all necessary steps to make India's steel manufacturing sector competitive, an official statement said.

According to Goyal, the government will initiate steps to double the exports of engineering goods in the next five years and reach $200 billion by 2030.

Goyal, who also holds railways portfolio, was speaking at a meeting here Steel and Pteroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan. Both Ministers discussed the challenges being faced by the steel sector and the import-export trends with steel producers, the statement said.

Representatives of the steel industry and the Engineering Export Councils apprised the Ministers about the protectionist measures being imposed by other countries and the under-utilised capacity in steel manufacturing in India.

"Both the Ministers assured the steel industry that the Ministries of Commerce and Industry and Steel will make all efforts to ensure that engineering goods exports double in the next 5 years and reach $200 billion by 2030," the statement said.

"This will not only boost India's exports but will also generate jobs in the manufacturing sector, especially the MSME sector."

The Ministers also discussed measures that the government could take, both tariff and non-tariff, to reduce unnecessary imports and boost exports, it said.

"The MSME sector steel manufacturers urged steel producers to supply raw material at concessional prices so that the MSME sector can compete in international markets," it added.

India is the second largest steel producer, although the country continues to remain a net importer of the the product.

--IANS

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