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Giving a boost to government's ambitious 'Make in India' initiative, Indian railways and government PSUs have placed orders for iron and steel, worth Rs 8,129 crore with domestic manufacturers during June 2017 to October 2018, according to the Ministry of Steel. In a statement issued by the ministry it was stated that with such placement of orders, the demand for domestic iron and steel products has grown substantially. According to the statement, Piyush Goyal-led Railway Ministry, GAIL, ONGC, HPCL, and EIL have placed orders with domestic manufactures of iron and steel for various categories of pipes, rails and tubes. Earlier, these products were imported from other countries but now, they are being procured from domestic manufacturers.

The statement further said that to increase consumption of rails manufactured indigenously either through SAIL or through other domestic producers, discussions are on with the Railway Ministry. Also, efforts are being made to on-board sectors such as Defence and CPWD so that use of steel products, which are manufactured domestically grows, the statement said.

The Ministry of Steel had promulgated a policy, in a bid to give preference to domestically manufactured iron and steel products (DMI&SP). The policy was notified last year on May 8. Thus, to make sure that the policy is being implemented properly, a standing committee has been constituted under the Ministry of Steel, chaired by steel secretary to oversee its implementation, the statement said