File picture of a man works inside a steel factory at Ludhiana
| Photo Credit: Reuters

India’s crude steel production rose 14.7% to 69.65 million tonne (MT) during April-September period of 2023-24 fiscal year, according to SteelMint India.

The steel output in the year-ago period was 61.06 MT, the market research firm said.

The increase in production was mainly on account of improved capacity utilisation rates coupled with the ramping up of capacities by key Indian steel players, it said.

According to SteelMint, these factors will continue to support the growth in production in the second half of the ongoing fiscal as well.

The domestic consumption of finished steel also rose 14.77% to 63.99 MT from 55.75 MT in the six-month period a year ago.

During the period, the country saw exports shrinking 10.25% to 3.23 MT from 3.60 MT in April-September 2022-23.

The inbound shipment rose to 2.90 MT from 2.56 MT in the year-ago period, registering a year-on-year rise of 13.33%.

The collective production of top six players namely Tata Steel, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel and Power (JSP), AMNS India, SAIL and RINL stood at 41.24 MT as against 38.3 MT in the year-ago period.