Despite spike in aluminium demand, Indian producers fear Chinese threat

Demand for aluminium has ebbed worldwide but producers fear Chinese manufacturers, buoyed by government incentives, will flood even this market

Aluminium is among the few major industries in the country where enough capacity has been created over the years to the point of what Prime Minister Narendra Modi describes as aatmanirbhar (self-reliant). A smelting capacity of around 4.2 million tonnes (mt) with adequate upstream linkages to refining of intermediate chemical alumina and further upwards to mining of bauxite, of which the country has rich resources, could easily take care of domestic demand in normal circumstances. 

But taking ad­vantage of low tariff barriers and also our free trade agreements (FTAs) with Asean countries, imports have usurp­ed a share of 58 per