The Indian government has revised its Domestically Manufactured Iron & Steel Policy 2025 emphasising ‘melt and pour’ norms to ensure local produced steel is used in government-funded projects, government officials said on Monday, June 2.
The revised norm lays down that domestically produced steel meeting the 'melt and pour' condition, ensuring crude steel manufacturing from basic raw materials within India, shall be used in all projects funded by the government.
This policy shift aims to tighten regulations and favour complete domestic production over imported steel with value addition, the officials said.
Earlier policies prescribed a minimum domestic value addition requirement for steel to be procured, but the revised policy makes it difficult for any steel used in government projects to be manufactured anywhere but India.
"The minimum value addition requirement has room for steel to be imported and converted to downstream finished products, and still be able to participate in government procurement projects. With melt and pour, the participant has to manufacture crude steel starting from the basic raw materials in India," an analyst at Indian rating agency ICRA explained.