New Delhi, July 8: As Indian
steel continues to grow in scale, scrap is turning as the key to making the
sector resilient and future ready, industry leaders said at mjunction’s two-day
Indian Steel Markets Conference that kicked off here today. "Decarbonisation and
reducing carbon footprint is very important for us. How to achieve this? This
is possible through better operational practises, newer technologies and use
such raw material which can produce less pollution. So, what is that raw
material? It is scrap - once considered to be of no value, but today it has
become invaluable," Dr Ashok Kumar Panda, CMD, SAIL, said during the
inaugural session of the 13th Indian Steel Markets Conference."We all now care about
scrap. It's not waste anymore. It is tommorow's steel," Vinaya Varma, MD
& CEO, mjunction, said in his welcome address.
"As India's steel demand
continues to grow, scrap will increasingly become strategic raw material rather
than merely a by-product. Every ton that we recover reduces dependence on
virgin resources and imported scrap while strengthening India's manufacturing
ecosystem," he added. There are different paths,
including scrap usage, to achieve decarbonisation of steelmaking, and making
the right choices is a challenge before the steelmakers, said Ashish Anupam, Vice President,
Marketing & Sales, Tata Steel."There is no one answer
to solve this problem. We talk of hydrogen, we talk of carbon capture, we talk
of scrap, we talk of electric arc furnace. But mind you, there's no one single
bullet which will solve the problem," Anupam, said."And the key word would
be how do we collaborate, innovate and make sure that we become self-reliant in
the best possible manner," he added. While the domestic steel
sector, both in terms of capacity and consumption, continues to grow, turning
the sector resilient, immune to geopolitical risks and cost competitive is
another major challenge, Rajat Gupta, Senior Partner, McKinsey & Company,
said. In line with the industry
concern of creating a sustainable ecosystem for the domestic steel sector,
theme of the conference this year is the 'Steelathon-Shaping the Steel-to-Scrap
value-chain'. As India pursues its roadmap
to expand steel manufacturing capacity to 300 million tonnes by 2030, securing
reliable, high-grade raw material supply chains has become an urgent industrial
priority. Backed by an extensive
operational footprint, mjunction helped steel mills source 2.5 million tonnes
of scrap in the last fiscal year alone, successfully organizing India's
fragmented scrap market into a highly structured, circular value chain.
About mjunction: mjunction services limited, a
50:50 joint venture between Tata Steel and SAIL, is India’s largest B2B e-commerce
company, leveraging technology to create value across industries for
over two decades. Founded in 2001 with the launch of its
pioneering metaljunction platform to bring transparency and
efficiency to steel sales, mjunction has since diversified into multiple
sectors, offering a comprehensive portfolio that includes e-auctions,
e-procurement, loyalty solutions, e-marketplaces, agri-commodities,
financing, and specialized services. With innovative offerings
like mjGRO for loyalty management, mjunction serves over 140 marquee
clients in both public and private sectors. With a strong focus on innovation,
transparency, and customer success, mjunction continues to drive digital
transformation in B2B commerce, enabling businesses to trade and procure with
greater efficiency, scale, and trust.