Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan on Friday said eastern India will play a pivotal role in driving growth and achieving Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision of a USD 5 trillion economy.
Pradhan also said with Japan as the partner country, Odisha will emerge as the nerve centre of 'Purvodaya' in the steel sector.
'Purvodaya' is aimed at driving accelerated development of eastern India through establishment of integrated steel hub, a government release had earlier said.
"We are organising series of workshops to deliberate on how to increase steel usage in India. We have rightly chosen Japan as our partner country who will guide us for making Indian steel ecosystem bigger both in qualitative and quantitative terms," the minister said.
Pradhan was speaking here at a workshop on 'Enabling Procedures for Increase of Steel Usage for the Growth of Economy'.
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He said India and Japan will write a new chapter in growth of steel sector in Odisha.
"Today, Odisha is the highest steel-producing state in the country. We are working to strengthen the steel ecosystem in Odisha. By 2030, Odisha's steel production alone is set to cross 100 MTPA. It is going to be the nerve centre of Mission Purvodaya in steel," Pradhan said.
The workshop was organised by the Ministry of Steel in partnership with Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), Government of Japan and Confederation of Indian Industries (CII).
The Union minister also said Kalinganagar in Jajpur district will be the hub of the clusterisation programme involving entire eastern India.
"Moving beyond just producing primary steel, we will create an ecosystem of ancilliary, value-added products, capital goods with industry participation," he said.
Japananese Ambassador to India Satoshi Suzuki said the country is moving towards becoming a USD 5 trillion economy, and it is the "right time to share our experience" with India.
"Japanese companies are increasingly collaborating with Indian companies... Demand for steel in India is set to grow," he said.
"Our iron ore exports from India, particularly Odisha, helped Japan in becoming a leading economic power," the ambassador added.
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