The Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry presented the fourth edition of the iconic Metals Conclave “Metals 2015” on 24th September 2015 in Kolkata with special focus on Steel, at the Taj Bengal, Kolkata.

The steel industry reflects the overall economic growth of an economy in the long term as demand for steel is derived from other sectors like automobiles, consumer durables and infrastructure. Matching with the pace of “Make in India” while simultaneously facing the high tides from raw materials availability, pricing factor from imports and other impediments, what would be the actual fate of the Indian Iron and steel Industry? Per capita consumption of Steel is a strong indicator of level of development of the nation. In this context, the Bengal Chamber’s Metals Conclave focused on Raw Material Securities and Logistics issues facing the Steel Industry, while also holding a Stakeholders- Producers Interactive Session. The objective of this forum, which has in the past felicitated iconic personalities in the metallurgical industry, was to create a relevant platform for decision makers in this sector to come together and brainstorm on growth and business issues governing the ground realities for this most important segment of the Indian economy.

This year we conferred the “Metal Icon Award” on Shri Sajjan Jindal, Chairman & Managing Director, JSW Steel Ltd. for his immense contribution to the Steel Industry. Dr. Amit Mitra, Hon’ble Minister-in-Charge, Commerce and Industries, IT & Electronics, Finance & Excise, Industrial Reconstruction and Public Enterprises, Government of West Bengal who also inaugurated the conclave as the Chief Guest, felicitated Mr. Jindal and honoured him with the Metal Icon award.

The Conclave witnessed the presence of many other leading personalities from the Steel and Steel Consuming industries. Mr. Syedain Abbasi, IAS, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Govt. of India inaugurated the Conclave as the Guest of Honour. Some of the other eminent speakers at the Conclave were Mr. Malay Mukherjee, Former COO, Mittal Steel and Former Member of the Board of Directors, Arcelor Mittal; Mr. Biswadip Gupta, Past President, BCC&I and President, Corporate Affairs, JSW Steel Ltd.; Mr. Sushim Banerjee, Director General, INSDAG; Mr. Vishal Agarwal, Vice Chairman & MD, Visa Steel; Mr. Subrata Mitra, Joint Managing Director, M N Dastur & Co. Pvt. Ltd.; Mr. Abraham Stephanos, Managing Director, Tata Steel Processing And Distribution Limited; Mr. Partha Sengupta, CEO, SNRL; Mr. Mike Barton, COO, Forum Group; Dr. Tridibesh Mukherjee, Former Deputy Managing Director, Tata Steel Limited; Mr. Amit Mukherjee, General Manager, L&T and Mr. Somnath Guha, Managing Director, Metalist Consultants Pvt. Ltd.

The Conclave was also a great success with over 200 participants from varied steel consuming sectors, steel producers, infrastructure and real estate sectors, the e-traders of steel, engineering colleges, geological departments of leading universities, Geological Survey of India and the Media.