India's plan to make CRGO steel indigenously to take off soon
Col Rolled Grain Oriented (CRGO) steel is a critical input for te manufacturing of transformers which is key for generation, transmission and distribution of electricity to end-users.
Only five global steel makers have the technology to produce such steel, which India imports around USD 2 billion annually.
"The plan to produce CRGO has been with steel ministry for quite some time. National Metallurgical Laboratory(NML) and Tata Steel's proposal for development of CRGO steel in the country through a pilot plant setup at a cost of Rs 500 crore
is set to take off soon," sources told PTI.
NML and Tata Steel would set up a pilot plant having a capacity of 3-5 tonnes in Jamshedpur. The two will give Rs 170 crore each to the project and the balance is likely to be funded by the Steel Ministry for procuring plant equipment.
NML is the third in the Council of Scientific & Industrial Research (CSIR) family of 38 laboratories.
The Working Group on Steel Industry for 12th Five-Year Plan in its report had recommended inclusion of development of CRGO steel as a high value project of national importance.
It had also suggested a budgetary allocation of Rs 150 crore for research on CRGO development during the 12th Plan Period.
There are a couple of public sector companies, including JSW Steel, that have already announced plans to produce CRGO
