India: Second-largest Scrap Importer | 08 Aug 2019

India has emerged the world’s second-largest scrap importer of steel toppling South Korea.

• Scrap imports In India increased by 35% in the first half of this year to 3.87 million tonnes.
• This signifies that the Indian system is not consuming internal scrap of steel, that is generated from old vehicles and machinery components, due to lack of efficient metal recycling facilities and technology

What will be the benefits of using internal scrap?

• Due to the slowdown in the domestic steel industry and cheap price of imported scrap metals, India became the second-largest scrap importer.
• However, India's Internal scrap market holds huge potential, for instance, India will have 22 million obsolete vehicles by 2025 from 8.7 million at present.
• But as of now, India lacks regulations in scrapping and recycling is mostly done by the unorganised segment.
• Thus, there is a need for a comprehensive metal recycling policy so that India can mobilise Internal scrap market.
• Benefits of using internal scrap:
  
  • It will improve India’s balance of trade.
  • Mobilising internal scrap will create millions of jobs in recycling dominated industries like plastic, rubber, glass, fabric, metal industries and technology and the auto sector.
• The government can incentivise internal scrap mobilisation in the automobile industry, by steps like waiver in the registration fee for a new car can be provided if the buyer produces a certificate for scrapping an old car.

Source:THBL