Beni asks steel cos to set up rural stockyards

Government has asked major steel companies, including state-run SAIL, to set up stockyards in rural areas so that consumers save on time and cost of transportation.
"We have asked leading steel players, including SAIL and RINL, to establish stockyards in rural areas for providing products required in construction and other applications. This will save time and cost of transportation for consumers and boost per man consumption," Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma told PTI.
Steel consumption in India is barely 60 Kg per capita against the global average of 210 kg per capita. In China it is 460 kg.
A Parliamentary panel on Steel and Coal in December had expressed disappointment over low steel consumption.

A high-level panel had asked the government to issue necessary direction to all major steel producers to set up processing units and stockyards, particularly in rural areas, to boost the per capita consumption.
The Steel Minister said a few players have already begun setting up such stockyards in rural areas.

"Latest in this series of initiatives is the establishment of stockyards by Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) in rural areas of Gorakhpur and Gonda," he said.
"Taking this concept a step forward, it has been decided that the stockyards would also have service centers in their premises, where small fabrication jobs could be carried out," he said.

The service centres would facilitate small fabricators to manufacture steel products according to the needs of customers and at the same time provide better infrastructure to small entrepreneurs, he added.
India's steel consumption grew 3.3 per cent, the lowest in three years, to 73.3 million tonne in 2012-13 on subdued demand due to slackening economy and high interest rates.
It grew by 5.5 per cent in 2011-12 and 9.9 per cent in 2010-11.