In line with the Centres vision to mandate use of stainless steel in coaches/wagons by 2020, Jindal Stainless aims to double its supplies and expects to meet almost 80 percent of the stainless steel requirement of Indian Railways (IR).
“IR and Metro Rail Corporations procure stainless steel wagons and coaches worth nearly 2,500 crore. JSL, on an average, meets 70 percent of this order. This year alone, the railways are likely to procure 10,000-11,000 wagons. We hope to supply 80 percent share of the steel for it,” Vijay Sharma, Head of Sales at JSL, which is part of the Ratan Jindal Group, told Steel Insights.
At present, Jindal Stainless is supplying 35,000 tons (t) of stainless steel annually to wagon manufacturers, which is likely to touch 70,000 tons by end of financial year 2019-20 (FY20).
Stainless steel wagons, which are preferred for carrying mineral ores and coal, are fast replacing the old worn-out carriages. Currently, wagons account for about a fifth of railways’ annual stainless steel bill of 2,500 crore. This is set to go up to 3,500-4,000 crore by 2020.
The company has partnered with Railways to implement the Indian Railways’ plans to increase and ease wagon manufacturing in the country. It is now working with the Railways’ Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) to develop two wagon models. “Our R&D team, in collaboration with the RDSO, is working on developing two new wagon models – BOBRN and BOST, which will be lighter and have greater anti-wear and tear properties,” Sharma elaborated.
At present, the total number of wagons in the country is over 200,000. In the next 5 years.
The domestic market for stainless steel, pegged at 2.4 million tons (mt), has been growing at 9-10 percent over the last few years. This is likely to shoot up to 1314 percent per year going forward, largely due to demand from Railways and the advent of BS-VI norms in the automobile sector, which will increase use of stainless steel in automobile manufacturing from the current level of 1.2 lakh tons per annum.
This story is from the September 2018 edition of Steel Insights.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the September 2018 edition of Steel Insights.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Steel's Net Zero mission
The country’s commitment to achieving Net Zero within a targeted timeframe will now propel its steel sector towards a sustainable future in line with global trends.
Fuel Price Hike, Supply Chain Disruption Hurt Festive Sales
Supply chain disruptions and fuel price hikes have hurt festive sales in a big way as most auto majors posted decline in sales in October.
Seaborne coking coal offers remain range-bound
Seaborne coking coal offers moved in a narrow range in October amid global supply tightness and healthy spot demand.
Global crude steel output down 8% in September
China manufactured 74 mt in September, fall of 21% y-o-y while India’s production went up by 7% to 10 mt.
MOIL embarks on expansion projects
“Even though our country is blessed with manganese ore reserves, we import 50% of the domestic requirement. We have to lower our import dependence and save precious foreign exchange.” Ram Chandra Prasad Singh, Steel Minister
Iron ore handled by major ports down 17% in H1
The 12 major Indian ports handled 27 mt of iron-ore during H1 of 2021, down by 17% from 33 mt recorded for the corresponding period of previous year.
Shrinking China output to boost India exports
“In the third quarter of 2021, the company actively responded to the pressure from external policies, such as production curtailment and dual control system on energy consumption and intensity, as well as coal resource shortage and surging prices.” Baoshan Iron and Steel Co Ltd
Indian Railways' iron-ore handling up 25% in H1
Indian Railways in April-September of 2021 (H1) transported 84 mt of iron ore, up by 25% over 67 mt during April-September 2020.
September crude steel production up 7.2% y-o-y
India’s crude steel production in September 2021 grew 7.2 percent to 9.547 million tons (mt) over September 2020 but was down by 3.2 percent from August 2021 output, provisional steel ministry data showed.
“Five enablers: way forward to sustainable cleaner steel”
Right and scalable technology, appropriate policy guidance by government, access to finance to fund transition, willingness of customers to pay for cleaner products and infrastructure for use of new technologies are the need of the hour for the sustainable and cleaner steel industry, according to Madhulika Sharma, Chief Corporate Sustainability, Tata Steel.
