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The per capita steel consumption in rural areas in the country remains at abysmally low at 10 kg per annum as compared to 60 kg in urban areas.
"In order to increase the demand of steel in rural areas and to boost steel consumption, the Minister of Steel, Beni Prasad Verma has been stressing on the need for setting up Steel Processing Units (SPUs)," an official statement by the Ministry said.
The effort is aimed at bridging the disparity between the consumption of steel in urban and rural areas, it said.
"With the setting up of these factories various steel products will be made available to remote rural districts at cost effective prices. Apart from this, these units will also provide avenues for employment and facilitate for rapid development of the region," the statement said.
Verma had laid the foundation stone of a Steel Processing factory by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam with a production capacity of one lakh tonne TMT at Koyle Jungle, Gonda in Jharkhand on September 9 for production of 1,00,000 tonnes of TMT.
He had laid the foundation stone of a similar unit at Jhansi in Madhya Pradesh on September 8.
Another SPU set up by SAIL was inaugurated by the Minister at Chunar, Mirzapur in Uttar Pradesh on July 13.
The statement said that he had earlier "laid the foundation of a 72,000 tonne per annum steel processing factory at Kurke, Ambedkar Nagar. Verma also inaugurated two other steel processing units, one at Risia, Bahraich on June 24 and another at Parsapur, Gonda on June 16".
The statement added that all these units have been set up by state-owned firms under the ministry in association with private companies.
"The raw material for steel processing in these factories will be provided by the PSUs and the products will be sold in rural markets at affordable prices," it added.
