The Steel Ministry is planning to rank non-integrated secondary steel producers to help them access cheaper capital.
Chaudhary Birender Singh, Minister for Steel, said, “The government is going identify and award the top 50 secondary steel producers of the country for their contribution to nation building.”
The ranking will draw inspiration from the Smart City ranking approach that takes into account multiple factors.
He was speaking at the National Conference of Secondary Steel Producers. He hoped that banks will take into account these rankings and consider lending to these companies at concessional rates. These ranked secondary steel producers will be categorised as ‘Smart Producers’.
The producers will be expected to adopt clean technologies to achieve a better ranking according to Singh.
He also said that the Union Cabinet will approve the National Steel Policy in a month. BusinessLine had reported recently that using domestically produced steel for government tenders will be mandated. This is going to be incorporated in the National Steel Policy, said Singh.