Centre Pushes Reforms to Boost Iron Ore and Steel Production

• Inter-ministerial meeting was held to raise production and exports.
• Focus on capacity use, cost efficiency, and ease of doing business.
• Talks with South Africa to strengthen trade and industrial ties.

Piyush Goyal, the Commerce and Industry Minister, announced that an inter-ministerial meeting was held to assess ways to boost production and exports of iron ore and steel and improve capacity utilization.

In a post on X, he mentioned that the meeting on Reforms to Strengthen iron ore and steel production, included Minister of Coal and Mines Kishan Reddy, Minister of Environment Forest and Climate Change Bhupender Yadav, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry Jitin Prasada, as well Minister of Odisha Bibhuti Bhusan Jena.

“Through strong Government-Industry collaboration & coordination across Ministries and State Governments, we are building a competitive, resilient, and sustainable ecosystem for India’s iron & steel industry,” he said. The main topics of discussion included increasing production and exports, streamlining costs, maximizing capacity utilization, and enhancing the ease of doing business.

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The meeting took place when India was attempting to be acknowledged as a new global centre for steel production while ensuring the domestic needs and export opportunities are met. It is expected that better coordination between key Ministries and State Governments will lead to faster reforms and will support the industry to improve its global competitiveness.

Goyal also provided updates on his talk with Parks Tau, South Africa`s Minister of Trade, Industry and Competition. The two leaders discussed strengthening bilateral trade and investment, enhancing partnerships within the industrial sector, and exploring collaborations in other sectors such as pharmaceuticals, services and tourism.

“Exchanged views on strengthening bilateral trade & investment ties, enhancing industrial partnerships, and explored new avenues for collaboration in diverse sectors such as pharmaceuticals, services & tourism,” the minister said in the post.