The IBEF website has a summary of Indian steel industry:
link. I don't know how much they archive it, so I'll post the important parts:
The Indian steel industry entered into a new development stage from 2005–06, resulting in India becoming the 5th largest producer of steel globally. Producing about 53 million tonnes (MT) of steel a year, today India accounts for a little over 7 per cent of the world's total production.
India is the only country worldover to post a positive overall growth in crude steel production at 1.01 per cent for the January-March period of 2009. The recovery in steel production has been aided by the improved sales performance of steel companies. The steel sector grew by 5.3 per cent in May 2009.
Production
Steel production grew at 1.2 per cent in the January-March quarter of 2008-09 over the same period last year. The fourth quarter saw most of the large steel companies such as SAIL, Tata Steel, Essar and JSW operating at full capacity.
The National Steel Policy has a target for taking steel production up to 110 MT by 2019–20. Nonetheless, with the current rate of ongoing greenfield and brownfield projects, the Ministry of Steel has projected India's steel capacity is expected to touch 124.06 MT by 2011–12. In fact, based on the status of Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) signed by the private producers with the various state governments, India's steel capacity is likely to be 293 MT by 2020.
In the first 10 months of 2008-09, India's steel production went up to 46.8 MT up by 1.1 per cent from last year.
Consumption
India accounts for around 5 per cent of the global steel consumption. Almost 70 per cent of the total steel used is for kitchenware. However, its use in railway coaches, wagons, airports, hotels and retail stores is growing immensely. Steel consumption grew at 5.2 per cent during the first quarter of 2009-10 as against 3.8 per cent in the January-March quarter last year.
A Credit Suisse Group study states that India's steel consumption will continue to grow by 16 per cent annually till 2012, fuelled by demand for construction projects worth US$ 1 trillion.
The World Steel Association has forecast a 2 per cent growth in the country's steel consumption in 2009, making it the only major economy to post an increase in a year that will see global consumption of the metal fall by around 15 per cent. India is expected to consume 53.5 MT of steel in 2009.
Steel players like JSW Steel and Essar Steel are increasing their focus on opening up more retail outlets pan India with growth in domestic demand. JSW Steel currently has 50 such steel retail outlets called JSW Shoppe and is targetting to increase it to 200 by March 2010. They expect at least 10-15 per cent of their total production to be sold by their retail outlets.
Essar Steel also has 150 such retail outlets of which 65 are hypermarts across India with the latest one being opened in Orissa.
Exports
Out of India’s annual iron ore production of more than 200 MT, about 50 per cent is exported.
Iron ore exports increased 17 per cent to 12.6 MT in February 2009 from 10.8 MT in the same month a year ago, owing to a moderate revival in demand from Chinese steel producers, as per the latest data compiled by a group of top Indian mining firms.
Earlier, according to a study, with the rise in demand for steel in China, India’s iron ore exports went up by 38 per cent to reach 13.6 MT in December 2008 against 9.8 MT in December 2007. Around 50-60 per cent of India’s iron ore is exported to China.
India’s exports during April-December 2008 were 64.4 MT. The government has reduced export duty on iron ore lumps from 15 per cent to 5 per cent, which has given a further fillip to exports. Further, the reduction in railway freight has also benefitted the domestic iron ore miners.
Investments
A host of steel companies have lined up major investment proposals. Furthermore, with an expanding consumer market, the Indian steel industry is likely to receive huge domestic and foreign investments.
According to the Investment Commission of India investments of over US$ 30 billion in steel are in the pipeline over the next 5 years.
* Arcelor-Mittal, the largest steel maker of the world, is planning to set up a captive port near Paradip in Orissa. The port will be used to serve two mega integrated steel plants of the company proposed in Orissa and Jharkhand.
* Tata Steel has raised US$ 500 million by issuing 'global depository receipts' (GDRs) aiming at expansion of its Jamshedpur plant and overseas mining projects.
* Japanese steel major, Kobe Steel, has decided set up a subsidiary in Kolkata to market its steel production machinery in India.
* Steel companies have committed US$ 122.50 million for setting up sponge iron units in Koppal and Bellary in Karnataka.
* SAIL will invest US$ 724.12 million to set up a 4-million tonne per annum steel mill at its Bhilai Steel Plant.
Government Initiative
Subsequent to the recent fall in international prices of commodities and to protect Indian producers, the Indian government has announced some changes in customs duty rates, which were effective from November 2008.
The government has removed full exemption of customs duty on some industrial and agricultural commodities. Iron and steel products like pig iron, spiegeleisen, semi-finished products, flat products and long products are now subject to a basic custom duty of 5 per cent ad valorem.
The Indian government plans to invest over US$ 350 billion in industries related to infrastructure and construction which will give a fillip to the steel sector.
Moreover, in the Union Budget 2009-10, the government has made a 23 per cent hike in allocation for highway development and US$ 1.034 billion increase in budgetary support to Railways which will further promote the steel industry.
. How can such a venture be viable with populist ticket prices in India?