India's domestic steel consumption to see 9-10% growth in FY25: ICRA

Domestic steel consumption is likely to witness 9-10 per cent growth the financial year 2024-25, rating agency ICRA said on Thursday.

The demand for steel was robust in the first quarter of the ongoing financial year with consumption growing at a rate of 15 per cent on a year-on-year basis amidst competitively priced imports.

"ICRA projects the domestic steel consumption growth at a healthy 9-10 per cent in FY2025," the rating agency said in a statement.

Demand may record some sequential slowdown in the current quarter as it is seasonality associated with monsoon, following which government capex may display a back-ended pick up.

"ICRA expects the industry to witness capacity utilisation at a decadal high of 88 per cent in spite of an all-time-high capacity addition of 15.6 MTPA (million tonnes per annum) in FY2025 as well as the surge in imports," the rating agency said.

For the last three years, the steel sector is going through the fastest period of growth witnessed since the global financial crisis.

In FY'24, the industry registered a consumption growth of 13.6 per cent, which is only marginally lower than the peak of 13.9 per cent registered in FY2006 during the golden period of the country's private sector capex.

Steel being a globally traded commodity, the external environment, therefore, plays a crucial role in determining the health of the domestic industry.

Given the sub-par economic growth outlook in China, along with other leading global steel-producing and consuming hubs, steel trade flows have been redirected to high-growth markets like India. Consequently, domestic finished steel imports have been steadily rising since FY'23.

India will be driving 20 percent of the world's economic growth in the next decade as it continues its march to become the third largest economy globally, according to G20 Sherpa Amitabh Kant.

Speaking at the AIMA convention here, he noted that India continues to be the fastest-growing large economy in the world and is the fifth-largest economy.

"In the next three years, we will overtake Japan and Germany to be the third largest economy in the world. In a world which is starved for growth, India is an outlier and has emerged as a very resilient powerhouse driving growth," he stated.

The country will be driving 20 percent of the world's economic growth in the next decade, he added.

"What we are witnessing today is a once-in-a-generation shift in our economic position. Just a few years back, we were in the fragile five, and from the fragile five, we moved to the top five in a decade," Kant said.

He noted that the country needs to transform the lives of people living in rural areas, improve health outcomes and enhance nutritional standards to become a developed nation by 2047.

India needs several champion states to drive future growth, Kant said.

"If India is to grow at 9-10 percent over the next three decades and become a developed economy by 2047, we need to improve our learning outcomes, our health outcomes and nutritional standards in a very big way," he added.

This means that many states like Bihar, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh, which account for almost 50 percent of the country's population, need to be transformed, he said.

"It is very critical that we transform them. It is important that they become the key driver of improvement on the human development index," Kant said.

Elaborating further, he said that the top 50 percent of India's population actually creates growth and drives prosperity. And the bottom 50 percent lives mainly in rural areas, relying on agriculture wage labour or government welfare schemes to achieve basic living standards, he added.

"It is important that we transform the lives of these people to the bottom 50 percent," he stated.

City-based DNA Wellness on Thursday said it will invest ₹200 crore to set up over 100 cervical cancer screening labs across India by 2027.

The company has acquired exclusive rights to conduct the DNA Ploidy Test, a diagnostic tool developed by the British Columbia Cancer Research Agency, Canada, the company said in a statement.

The test, also known as CERViSure, is a quick, accurate, and non-invasive method to detect cervical cancer.

DNA Wellness also announced the launch of India's first CERViSure laboratory in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, which will provide easy access to cervical cancer screening facilities to people.

"Going forward, DNA wellness will invest ₹200 crore to set up some 100 dedicated CERViSure laboratories across India, in a phased manner by 2027, to help the DNA Ploidy reach a maximum number of patients," the company said.

"By October 2024, the company will open dedicated laboratories in Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot and Surat," Pathik Bhandari, Co-founder, DNA Wellness, said.

The company will also explore collaboration with hospitals, clinics, and doctors to expand access to the DNA Ploidy Test, aiming to make it available nationwide.

Cervical cancer is a leading cause of cancer-related deaths among women in India, with some 1.3 lakh new cases and 80,000 deaths reported every year, the company said.

DNA Wellness is a leading player in providing advanced DNA profiling technologies in India. It works in the area of detecting genetic instability to improve patient outcomes for screening of diseases.

The Finance Ministry has eased the minimum public float requirements for companies eyeing a debut at the International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).

The Department of Economic Affairs, a wing under the ministry, has "amended the Securities Contracts Regulation Rules (SCRR), 1956 to ease the listing requirements" for Indian companies seeking to list on international exchanges within the IFSC, a government release stated on Thursday, August 29.

Notably, the Gujarat International Finance Tec City (GIFT City) in Gujarat's Gandhinagar is India's first International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) under Special Economic Zone Act, 2005.

What has changed?

The new rules stipulate that for Indian companies desiring to list solely on international exchanges in IFSCs, the minimum offer and allotment to the public as per the offer document "shall be at least 10% of the post-issue capital". Presently, firms listed on the local bourses are required to maintain a minimum public float of 25%.

"The continuous listing requirement for such companies has also been set at 10%," the release added.

How will the easing of norms help?

The changes will make IFSC listing more attractive for companies, analysts said. This will encourage Indian and foreign companies to list their securities in stock exchanges located in IFSC mandating lower dilution of ownership, said Nangia Andersen India Director (regulatory) Mayank Arora.

"While companies consider multiple factors such as liquidity, cost of listing, regulatory environment, etc. this amendment would certainly nudge Companies (both foreign and domestic) to explore the option of listing on stock exchanges located in IFSCs," he told news agency PTI.

According to the official statement, the amendments have been introduced by the Department of Economic Affairs to bring the requirements "at par with global standards".