Ministry of Steel today gave away Secondary Steel sector awards, for the first time, to 26 mini steel companies in recognition of their contribution to the national economy. The awards were given by Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh, at a function in New Delhi. Twelve companies were awarded Gold Certificates and 14 Silver Certificates for their performance during 2016-17.Speaking on this occasion Chaudhary Birender Singh said secondary steel sector contributes to more than half of the total steel production in the country. In order to enhance their global competitiveness, the awardhas been constituted. The Minister further added that in the context of India’s aim to create a globally competitive steel industry the secondary steel sector has to play an important role along with integrated steel players in order to achieve 300 million tonne capacity by the year 2030-31. At present India has 134 MT capacity. Secretary Steel, Binoy Kumar, said this recognition will encourage the secondary steel sector to strive for improving performance as well as quality of production. He said the consumption of steel in India has almost touched 70 kg per capita.The secondary steel sector is a critical and important segment of the market spanning from construction, machine tools, cold rolled products, pipes, stainless steel, galvanized and color coated steel as well as exports. Nearly 150 units had applied for the awards, of which 82 units were inspected by the selection committee and the awardees were selected based on well-defined criteria.Steel is one of the core sectors of the Indian economy and India is the 3rd largest steel producer in the world. Steel contributes to over 2% to India’s GDP and creates a virtuous cycle of employment generation throughout the economy.