Steel Output Rises in April

India steel output rose in April, but the commodity saw lesser exports during the month.The country’s steel output in April 2018 increased 5.6 per cent to 8.7 million tonne as compared to the year-ago month, the World Steel Association has said. The exports of finished steel, witnessed a decline by 25.2 percent to 0.558 MT during April 2018, according to a report.The country had exported 0.746 million tonnes finished steel during the same month a year ago, the Joint Plant Committee said in its latest report. The JPC, under the Ministry of Steel, is the only institution in the country that collects and maintains data on domestic steel and iron industry.The total output of finished steel for sale in April stood at 8.737 million tonnes, up 5.4 percent from 8.286 million tonnes the country had produced in the same month last year. The Cabinet, in May last year, approved National Steel Policy 2017 that envisages Rs 10 lakh crore investment to take capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030-31 to give a boost to the sector.The NSP also aims at more than double the per capita steel consumption to 158 kilogram by 2030-31, from about 61 kilogram at present.