new delhi with chinas massive construction sector still in a funk and the us and europe likely heading into recessions india has emerged as a savior for flagging global steel demandpoised to overtake china as the worlds most populous country next year india is in the midst of a building boom prime minister narendra modi is seeking to modernize roads rail networks and ports in attempt to vie with china as a manufacturing hubthats set to translate into a 67 jump in steel demand to around 120 million tons in 2023 according to the world steel association the highest growth among major economiesread alsoindias finished steel imports from russia hit 4year high in apriloctoberrussias steel exports to india reached 149000 tonnes in the first seven months of the current fiscal year that began in april up from around 34000 tonnes shipped a year earlierjindal steel to put rs 8000 crore into specialty steeljindal steel and power jspl will spend rs 7930 crore under the productionlinked incentive pli scheme for specialty steel to manufacture eight types of highend alloy in the country its managing director bimlendra jha saidindia which also saw a similar expansion this year overtook the us to become the worlds no 2 steel consumer after china a couple of years agothe nationbuilding phase of any economy requires a lot of steel and commodities said jayant acharya deputy managing director at jsw steel ltd the nations biggest producer india is going through that phase in this decade and it could boost the countrys steel consumption to over 200 million tons by 2030 he said the buoyant outlook has set off a flurry of activity arcelormittal nippon steel india ltd a joint venture between indias mittal family and the japanese producer has plans to more than triple capacity to 30 million tons in the coming decade south korean steelmaker posco holdings inc and indian tycoon gautam adani asias richest person are also exploring setting up mills in the countryindia produces the vast majority of the steel it uses but its also being forced to import more to meet the surge in demand inward shipments rose 15 in april through october from a year earlier to 31 million tons according to government figureslocal producers are becoming worried about the flood of cheap imports as demand dries up in traditional steel producers china accounted for more than a quarter of imports in october while some russian steel is also reaching india the government data showthe quality of some of the steel coming in is substandard said ak hazra deputy secretary general at the indian steel association which has requested authorities look into the matter we are just asking that imports should be at competitive and international prices and the quality should adhere to indian standards he saiddespite the strong growth india is still well behind its rival asian powerhouse in terms of total steel consumption demand for next year will be less than a seventh of chinas 914 million tons according to