Competitiveness of Indian steel industry through cost efficiency and innovation

There have been revolutionary changes in the global steel scene with fierce competitive pressures on performance, productivity, price reduction and customer satisfaction. National boundaries have melted to encompass an ever increasing world market. Trade in steel products has been on the upswing with the production facilities of both the developed and the developing countries complementing each other in the making of steel of different grades and specialty for the world market. Innovation and reduction in cost are keys to achieve a competitive edge in the international market. Innovation in its broadest sense includes new technologies, new ways of managing or discovering new market segments. Technology influences cost competencies in the long term which in turn generates price competition in the market. However, in the short term prices are also influenced by capacity utilisation through better efficiency. Innovation results in continuous development of cutting edge solutions in technology, processes and products. Achieving this calls for substantial efforts in R&D, for which, to stay ahead in the competitive world. Competition between steel makers promotes innovation and efficiency. It promotes the growth in steel use and serves steel's customer and society as a whole. Post-liberalisation, Indian firms have been under tremendous pressure to improve their competitiveness. The removal of physical restrictions on imports and the lowering of customs duties implied that Indian firms had to be as good (or nearly as good) as their international competitors in order to survive. This accelerated the process of technological absorption. Several companies also pushed ahead in improving production and improving their products so as to be able to add value to their products and improve profitability. The steelmaking and processing technologies have undergone significant changes in the last few decades, in order to make steel more cost competitive and also enhance the performance capability of steel to meet the increasing needs and expectations of market and society. New processing technologies, such as, continuous casting, ladle refining, thermo-mechanical controlled processing, continuous annealing and processing line, endless hot rolling, etc have dramatically improved material property and performance. The steel industry is continuously striving to make its product lighter, stronger and cheaper than ever before. In addition to new technologies, new concepts have been introduced which has led to significant improvement in product property and capability. Ultra low carbon Bainitic steels have fulfilled the long felt need for higher strength level without sacrificing low temperature toughness and weldability properties. Recent development of interstitial free (IF) steel for the auto segment has completely eliminated presence of cementite from microstructure of cold rolled steel sheets and has made it amenable for press forming of complex shaped auto components. Ultra fine grained (1μm - 3μm) steels have been successfully made in laboratory scale, which has led to high strength levels (YS-800MPa) with excellent impact toughness combination. The paper throws light on global steel scenario and structure of Indian steel industry. A detailed SWOT analysis of Indian steel industry presents various opportunities and impediments in front of the industry during the next few years. Competitiveness of Indian steel industry has been analysed with other global players with the help of various parameters and finally some ways have been suggested. Apart from new concepts and technologies, a number of other measures have been taken up by the Indian steel industry to improve its competitiveness. Such measures include enhancing volume of value added products, reduction in dependence on imported coking coal, creation of infrastructure to sustain 160Mt production by 2020, quality assurance, improved IT strategy, etc. Innovation and cost efficiency keep hand in hand. Innovation not only in product development, but in process, business strategy, marketing strategy, HR policy leads to cost efficiency. This paper provides a detailed overview of the steps to enhance competitiveness of the Indian steel industry through cost efficiency, innovative concepts and new technologies.