MUMBAI: In a major achievement, India has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest producer of crude steel in February, according to the Steel Users Federation of India (Sufi).

At present, China is the largest producer of crude steel in the world, accounting for more than 50 per cent of the production.

India's crude steel production was up 4.4 per cent and stood at 93.11 million tonnes (mt) for the period April 2017 to February 2018, compared with April 2016 to February 2017, which has helped India to overtake Japan and becomes the second largest producer of crude steel in the world, the federation said in a statement here.

India overtook the US in 2015 to become the third largest producer of crude steel.

Attributed the growth in steel production to the right policies undertaken by the Modi government, Nikunj Turakhia, president, Sufi said, "The government has taken host of steps to curb imports, push local demand with initiatives like 'Make in India', implementation of the GST and infrastructure projects, to encourage the domestic market."

According to the World Steel Association, India produced 8.4 mt of crude steel in February 2018, up 3.4 per cent over February 2017.

Turakhia said the steel ministry is working proactively to lay down the road map to achieve 300 million tons by 2030 and "we seem to be on the right track".

"In addition, quick resolution of various big-ticket steel mills under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code and the National Company Law Tribunal is expected to further hasten the process of achieving higher capacity utilisation," he added.

