Iron and Steel Industries

The rise of the “iron and steel industry” is synonymous with modern industrialization. The level of industrialization in every country is often assessed in terms of per capita steel consumption. This is due to the fact that all other sectors must rely on steel to create machinery of any kind.

When the technique of machine manufacture gains traction, the speed of industrialization accelerates. Thus, the rise of the “iron and steel industry” is unquestionably critical in the fundamentals of industrial growth and economic development. This paper will discuss the details on steel industries in India and their history of development, and their importance in economic conditions. 

What is the Iron and Steel Industry?

The “iron and steel industry” in India is one of the most important in the country. In January 2019, India overtook Japan as the world’s second-largest steel producer. According to world steel, India’s raw steel manufacturing in 2018 was 106.5 tonnes, a 4.9 percent rise from 101.5 MT in 2017. This indicates that India has surpassed Japan as the world’s second-biggest steel producer. Japan manufactured 104.3 MT in 2018, a 0.3 percent reduction from the previous year. Total finished steel production was 82.68 million tonnes, with raw iron production at 9.7 million tons. Iron ore is used to generate the majority of iron and steel in India.

The Indian Ministry of Steel governs the Steel sector’s policy, which is concerned with trying to coordinate and making plans for the development and growth of the iron and steel industry, both in the public and private sectors; formulating policies concerning the pricing, production,  import and export, distribution, of iron and ferroalloys, steel, and refractories; and developing input industries relating to iron ore, manganese ore, chrome ore, and refractories, among other things.” The” Steel Authority of India” markets steel for the majority of public sector enterprises (SAIL). In 1991 and 1992, the Indian steel industry became de-licensed and de-controlled, respectively.

Steel Plants in India

Integrated steel plants and Mini steel plants are the two types of steel plants. Medium and small businesses manufacture roughly half of a country’s steel. Mini steel facilities are smaller in size, feature electric furnaces, and employ both steel scrap and sponge iron. They also have re-rollers that employ steel ingots. They manufacture “carbon steel and alloy steel” to particular specifications. In India, there are approximately 650 micro steel factories.

Integrated steel factories are huge and handle it all in one complex, from raw material preparation to steel rolling, production, and shape. Iron ore, flux, and coke are heated in the blast furnace. The coke converts the iron oxide inside the ore to metallic iron, and also the molten mass splits into slag and iron. A few of the iron from the blast furnace is chilled and sold as pig iron; the remainder is processed into steel in basic oxygen furnaces. Iron and steel scrap can be supplied both to the blast furnace as well as the basic iron furnace. In India, there are roughly five integrated SAIL plants.

History of the steel industry in India

Recent findings in the “Middle Ganges Valley” by archaeologist Rakesh Reddy, with the assistance of his wife Aditi Venugopal, indicate that ironworking in The country may have started as early as 1800 BCE. In truth, the art of producing useful metals began in India. Iron implements were discovered at archaeological sites in India such as Dadupur, Malhar, Nala Ka Tila, Raja, and Lahuradewa in the “state of Uttar Pradesh between 1800 BCE and 1200 BCE”.Iron metallurgy advanced rapidly in India during the start of the first millennium BCE.  During this era of peaceful settlements, technological growth and control of iron metallurgy were accomplished.

Modern steelmaking in India started in 1870 with the establishment of India’s first blast furnace at Kulti and started production in 1874 with the establishment of Bengal Iron Works. Although the first “modern steel manufacturing plant” was established at the “Gun & Shell Factory (GSF)” in 1801, it is still owned by Yantra India Limited, as is the Metal & Steel Factory (MSF) in Calcutta. All of this had occurred following the establishment of coal mining in Dating back to the late eighteenth century, which also removed the need for roughly 14.5 tonnes of charcoal to be produced to smelt each tonne of iron, as well as providing a power source for the trains and riverboats used it to transport the ores and smelted metals.

Importance of Steel Industries

• It is a measure of modernity, and the progress of the steel industry is directly related to the development of a nation
• The iron and steel sector serves as the backbone for the country’s physical infrastructure development
• The iron and steel sector provides a strong forward-backward link for a country’s industrial infrastructure
• The iron and steel industries are crucial for the regional growth of the region where they are located
• The iron and steel business is critical to the advancement of many other sectors, including the automobile industry

Conclusion

Dorabji Tata founded the Tata Iron and Steel Company known as, TISCO in 1907 as part of his father’s empire. By 1939, it was the largest steel plant inside the British Empire, accounting for a major percentage of the 2 million tons of pig iron and 1.13 million tons of steel generated yearly. In 1951, the corporation embarked on a massive modernization and expansion initiative.