To promote research and development in the steel sector, the government is all set to launch a National Research and Development Mission (NRDM).
?There are many steel products that cannot be produced in India at present. To facilitate such production, proper research and development facility is a must. Both public and private companies are likely to participate in the NRDM? steel secretary RS Pandey told FE.
Products like CRGO, which is used in electrical equipment, are not produced in the country at present. With research and development, we will be able to produce these products that will help the country immensely, he added.
NRDM will have a corpus between Rs 60 crore and Rs 65 crore. The corpus is likely to be funded by steel giants such as Tata Steel, SAIL, JSW and RINL. Moreover, there will be sponsors to fund each research.
?Indian companies and users have been largely depending on imports for these products. There is a need to build a substantial domestic base for them. With the setting up of the mission, we think that there would be substantial development taking place in this area. This would be passed on to domestic companies,? said a senior official associated with the project.
The government will, however, not contribute to the corpus. Nitty gritties of the proposal are still being worked out and talks are on with all major steel producers. NRDM will identify the areas of research and also the institutes to carry out the research work?both inside and outside the country. The focus area for research is likely to be beneficiation of various raw materials.