February 23, 2012: In the absence of any doemstic production, India has accorded approval to Japanese steel maker Nippon Steel Corporation for supplying value-added CRGO steel, used mainly in manufacturing of power transformers, to an estimated $2-billion domestic market.

"Nippon Steel Corporation had earlier applied to supply CRGO steel in India. A licence has been granted in-principle in respect of its Hirohata Steel Works. Once it send the fees, licence will be promptly despatched to them," a senior steel ministry official has said.

Nippon Steel's domestic peer JFE is the only other firm that has been supplying CRGO into India for quite some time now. CRGO is a value-added steel and a critical input for the making of distribution transformers used in the power sector. "With this, two foreign manufacturers - JFE, Japan and Nippon Steel Corp, Japan will now be able to supply CRGO to India," the official added. India's CRGO market is currently pegged at around $2billion and the future growth of the product is linked with the spurt in the power sector.

Source: The Economic Times