Current Affair 1:

Steel is a de-regulated sector where prices of steel are determined by market dynamics and fluctuate depending on its availability. The Government acts as a facilitator, by creating a conducive policy environment for the development of steel sector in the country.

QCO for steel:

In order to enable consumption of quality steel by the end users, Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) formulated standards for different grade of steel.

1. Ministry of Steel accordingly issued steel Quality Control Order (QCO) which mandates that only quality steel conforming to the relevant BIS standards notified under QCO are allowed and sub-standard steel products are not allowed.
2. This ensures that only quality steel is made available to the end users & the public at large.
3. The QCO applies to the domestic steel producers and the steel imported into the country.
4. The QCO is a measure to ensure the availability of quality steel to the end users, not to control steel imports.
5. However, some steel grades not covered by BIS standards can be imported with a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Ministry of Steel.

As a result of different measures, India’s steel sector has achieved the following outcomes: India’s steel sector has become the second largest producer of steel in the world since 2018.

Progress made by the steel sector from 2014-15 to 2023-24: -

The average CO2 emission intensity of the Indian steel industry has reduced from around 3.1 tonne of CO2 per tonne of crude steel in 2005 to around 2.54 tonne of CO2 in 2023-24.

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