By IANS
Kolkata : A three-day international conference and exhibition on steel scheduled Feb 27-29 at Jamshedpur in Jharkhand will discuss targeted development and employment generation in the industry.
The conference, Steelrise 2008, is being organised against the backdrop of the target Indian policymakers and industry have set themselves to expand annual steel production to 180 million tonnes by 2020.
“There could not be a more timely conclave in the context of India’s steel capacity expansion – a single forum at which technological, developmental and socio-economic issues are all addressed, from all concerned quarters,” said B. Muthuraman, CEO, Tata Steel.
Muthuraman, who would inaugurate the conference, said “this is one event that can be expected to make a practicable contribution to the expansion programme which has no parallel except in China”.
The 180 million tonne target would entail a 10-12 percent annual growth of steel making capacity over the next 15 years, and an aggregate estimated investment of over Rs.4 trillion ($100 billion) to build a steel hub spanning the four states of Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Orissa and West Bengal, which account for the lion’s share of India’s iron ore reserves.
Besides steel makers and ancillary industry representatives, Steelrise 2008 will be a gathering of all stakeholders, including environmentalists and development thinkers concerned with the implications of the development of the industry.