India’s steel production is on the rise despite a decrease in the global market, Narendra Singh Tomar, the Union Minister of Steel and Mines, said on Saturday.

Addressing the gathering at the 53rd National Metallurgists’ Day International Symposium on Vision 2025 – Global Challenges and Opportunities in Steel Industry, the minister said that the country has seen 4 percent growth despite a 2.3 percent growth in the global market.

“This has been possible because of the effort of engineers, workers, and employees of the steel industry. They have been working hard for the development of this industry,” he said.

He further added that the government is planning to increase the total production capacity from 100 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes by 2025. “The government and the private sectors should work together to implement this plan and increase investments. The government has also planned to open 4 steel production units in Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, and Karnataka,” he added.

The minister also said that the government has inaugurated a new Steel Research and Technology Mission of India to improve the research and development in the industry, adding that Rs.200 crores has been allotted as a corpus fund in the industry. “While Rs.100 crore will be funded by the industries, the remaining Rs.100 crore will be given by the ministry. The society will be directly monitored by the ministry to spearhead the R&D in the field.”

Talking about the government’s efforts to boost the steel industry, Tomar said that there are plans to improve the employment along with production. “The government has also implemented a mining policy to produce raw material. The Mines and Minerals Development and Regulation Act will also help eradicate corruption and make the allocation system transparent. The processing of allocation of mines will start in November,” he said.

On the Chinese intervention, Tomar said that the Ministry and the central government are committed to stop illegal dumping of goods.