The Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry organised the 7th Edition of the "Metals Conclave 2019", on 28th May 2019 at Kolkata. This is one of the most prestigious Conclaves of the Chamber and has witnessed the gracious presence of the eminent Speakers as Late Shri OP Jindal, Founder Chairman, Jindal Group; Shri Sajjan Jindal, Chairman & Managing Director, JSW Steel Ltd.; Shri T V Narendran, the then MD, Tata Steel India & South East Asia; Shri V S Jain, Former Chairman, Steel Authority of India Ltd; Shri Prashant Ruia, Former MD, Essar Steel; including Hon'ble Ministers and Senior Government officials from the Central and the State Government.

The theme of this year's Conclave was Indian Metals Industry: Vision 2030.

Keeping in mind that the Indian Steel Industry has made significant contribution to the all-round economic development of India given the contribution of steel to manufacturing, infrastructure, power, aerospace and industrial machinery sectors, this year's theme was chosen as the "Indian Metals Industry : Vision 2030" The Indian steel sector contributes nearly 2% of the country's GDP and employs over 6 lakh people. The steel demand from infrastructure sector is expected to rise up to 138 MT in 2030, while steel demand from automotive, engineering and transportation sectors is expected to triple by this time period. India has also become the second largest producer of crude steel during 2018 besides being the largest producer of sponge iron in the world and the 3rd largest steel consumer in the world after China and USA. More than 50% production is in the secondary steel sector comprising of small producers spread across the country employing a large number of people directly or indirectly. Raw Material Sources, Quality & Technology, Logistics Infrastructure, Adequate Power supply would be instrumental in defining the growth trajectory of this industry. Thus to keep the momentum going, the Conclave started with a focus on the key enabling factors defining & supporting the growth of Indian Steel Industry. The Opening Session of the Conclave, titled as "Indian Steel Industry : Key Enablers" witnessed the participation of Mr. Rana Som, Former Chairman and Managing Director, NMDC Limited and Chairman, Bengal Global Coalfield Limited, Mr. Abraham Stephanos, Vice President, BCC&I and Managing Director, Tata Steel Processing And Distribution Limited, Mr. Sanjay Rath, Head-Logistics Centre of Excellence, JSW Steel Ltd., Mr. T. Kumaresan, VP & Head, Minerals & Metals, L&T Construction, Metallurgical & Material Handling & Mr. Subrata Mitra, Joint Managing Director, M N Dastur & Co. Pvt. Ltd.

The expected rise in demand in steel consumption would require identification and ways to optimize utilization of existing training infrastructure and skill development initiatives for meeting the requirement of skilled manpower of the steel sector. There is a need to assess the need-based skill requirements in the sector on a short-term and long-term basis and also assess the requirements of upstream and downstream industry and thirdly the requirements of allied industry. Mr. Vijay Kumar Nirala, Chief, Safety, Tata Steel Ltd. threw light on this and shared Tata Steel's perspective in the special plenary Session on "Reviving Skill infrastructure in the Steel Sector".

Fireside Chat Session with Mr. Y P Singh Suri, MD & Country Head, Outokumpu (India) and Mr. Partha Sengupta, President - Operations, JSW Steel and Chairman Emeritus, Metals Committee, BCC&I Moderated by Mr. Sushim Banerjee, Director General, INSDAG and CEO, IISSSC and Chairperson, Metals Committee, BCC&I on "Steel & Stainless Steel Industries: International Perspective" was a very interesting and an interactive session involving the audience. It discussed the importance of using good quality stainless steel and that it should also be incorporated in government policy to standardize the usage of good quality stainless steel vis-a-vis inferior quality steel.

The session on "The Future of Metals Trading : Opportunities & Challenges" discussed the modalities of future trading in metals besides highlighting the significance of supportive logistics in the industry to meet its growing demand for moving finished steel as well as the input materials. Mr. Malay Mandal, Additional General Manager, MSTC Ltd. & Mr. Vibhor Tandon, AVP-BD, MCX India graced this session to throw light on Metals Trading. Mr. Malay Chatterjee, Former CMD, KIOCL and Co Chairman, Metals Committee and Mr. M C Agarwal, Executive Director, Marketing, SAIL CMO discussed Role of PSUs in shaping the Steel Growth Trajectory in India also touching upon the policies of marketing and distribution of steel products.

The conclave was attended by 120-130 participants from steel producing companies, steel products & steel alloys producing companies, Engineering Industry, Equipment & Machinery producing companies, Refractory companies, Steel-re rolling Mills, Sponge Iron Manufacturers, Metals Trading Companies, Institute of Metals, Institute of Welding, Department of Geology from Calcutta University and Jadavpur University, Consultants and also Engineers. The participation included big corporate as well as small & medium companies to individuals like faculties, Engineers, Designers & consultants.