The union minister of Commerce & Railways, Piyush Goyal and Steel Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan together conducted a meeting in New Delhi with Steel Manufacturer Association, to discuss the challenges being faced by the steel industries and the import-export trends with the steel producers.

In spite of India being the second largest manufactures of steel, it is also a net importer of steel. The representatives of the steel industry and the Engineering Export Councils held a detailed discussion with the Commerce and Steel Ministers over the protective measures taken by other countries and also the minimal utilization of the steel manufacturing capability of India.

Furthermore, the MSME sector steel manufacturers suggested the steel producers to supply raw materials at minimal charges; there by the MSME sector could compete with the international markets.
Both the ministers, Piyush Goyal and Dharmendra Pradhan discussed in depth on the measures to be taken by the Ministries of Commerce & Industry and Steel over the tariff and non-tariff, to cut down the unnecessary imports and increase the exports.

The Ministers guaranteed the steel industries that the Commerce & Industry and Steel Ministry will take the required measures to increase the exports of engineering goods twice in the next five years, and to reach $200 Billion by 2030. This action would not only increase the India’s export, but would also improve the employment opportunity in the manufacturing sectors especially in MSME sector.

The meeting was attended by Piyush Goyal, Dharmendra Pradhan, Faggansingh Kulaste, MoS Steel, Secretary Steel, Binoy Kumar, Secretary Commerce, Anup Wadhawan, DGFT, Alok Vardhan Chaturvedi, senior officers of Department of Commerce and Steel Ministry, Chairman SAIL, all members of EEPCs, Indian Steel Association, steel makers & manufacturers and other associations of the steel sector.