Question.
Why is the per capita consumption of steel so low in India?
( Chapter - 6 Manufacturing Industries, Cass X NCERT Contemporary India -II )
Answer.
In 2019, India was the second largest producer of steel after China with an annual production of 111 million tonnes of crude steel.
In 2019, the per capita consumption of steel in India was around 74.3 kg per annum against the world average of 229.3 kg.
The per capita consumption of steel in India is so low because of the following reasons:
The high cost of steel production in India is due to the non-availability of coking coal in India. In India, more than 90 percent of coking coal requirements of the iron and steel industries are met mainly from imported coal from Australia, the USA, and Africa which cost us very dearly.
The low level of demand for iron and steel in the Indian market is due to the low level of urbanization and low investment in transport infrastructure facilities. As we know that urban areas consume more iron and steel than rural areas. Large quantities of iron and steel are required for the construction of modern infrastructure facilities such as roads, railways, highways, bridges, and buildings.
Steel production in India is largely constrained by the non-availability of coking coal, low productivity of labor, erratic supply of energy, and poor transport facilities for raw materials and finished goods.
India's population is huge and a large part of it has little purchasing power to afford the consumption of steel to build its own infrastructure such as buildings.
Due to the above reason, the per capita consumption of steel in India is so low.
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