Now you will not have to import steel to make transformers, the government has made special arrangements
Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy launched the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 1.1 to encourage the production of special types of steel. If a company invests even Rs 3000 crore for the production of CRGO steel, which is mainly used in grid infrastructure along with power transformers, then it will be entitled to incentives. Earlier this limit was Rs 5000 crore.
Now our dependence on the import of special types of steel used in power transformers and other industries can be reduced. On Monday, Steel Minister HD Kumaraswamy launched the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme 1.1 to encourage the production of special types of steel.
Similarly, PLI Scheme 1.0 was also launched three years ago for the production of special types of steel, but no company came forward under this scheme for the production of eight types of special steel like Cold Rolled Grain Oriented (CRGO). The conditions for getting incentives under PLI Scheme 1.1 have been relaxed to encourage the domestic production of these steels.
The incentives will be available if a company invests even Rs 3000 crore for the production of CRGO steel, mainly used in grid infrastructure along with electric transformers. Earlier this limit was Rs 5000 crore. Similarly, the production limit has been reduced from two lakh tonnes to 50,000 tonnes.
Under PLI 1.1, applications can be filed till January 31 by interested companies. Companies already selected under the PLI scheme are not eligible to apply. Till date, an investment of Rs 18,300 crore has been made under PLI 1.0, which has generated employment of 14,700.
According to Steel Secretary Sandeep Pondrik, PLI Scheme 1.1 has been started by changing the terms of the PLI scheme. Companies will be able to produce under the 1.1 scheme from the upcoming financial year 2025-26 to the financial year 2029-30. According to the industry, currently, the CRGO steel production in the country is only 50,000 tonnes while the domestic consumption is more than two lakh tonnes.
According to the Steel Secretary, the country currently has the capacity to produce 18 crore tonnes of steel. Steel consumption is increasing at the rate of 12-13 percent every year. In such a situation, by 2030, there will be a demand of 260-70 lakh tonnes at the domestic level. Therefore, this scheme has been brought to encourage domestic production of steel.
