The government on Thursday rolled out an initiative under which steel makers will add ‘Made in India’ labels to their products to promote locally-made goods at the global level. The move is aimed at realising Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision, Union Steel Minister Jyotiraditya M Scindia said.
In the first phase, all Integrated Steel Players (ISPs) have been included under the initiative to introduce branding and labelling of ‘Made-in-India’ steel products in the global market, the Ministry of Steel said in a statement. The Secondary Steel Industries (SSIs) will join the initiative in the second phase, it said.
Scindia chaired a consultative committee meeting to discuss the progress on the first-of-its kind initiative by the Ministry of Steel and the Ministry of Commerce and Industry to introduce branding and labelling of ‘Made-in-India’ steel products in the global market. Apart from making Indian steel products more attractive to buyers, this would also ensure standardised quality of goods, it said.
Minister of State for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste, along with heads of various steel PSUs, attended the meeting here.
During the meeting, he highlighted “the significance of branding in promoting the Indian steel industry and realising the PM Narendra Modi’s ‘Make in India’ vision.”
He also emphasised on the efforts to build India as a manufacturing centre of the world, which requires a unified and distinctive identity for Indian steel that reflects its quality, innovation, and sustainability practices.
“It is the first ever initiative by any ministry to introduce labelling and branding of the sector’s products. The Ministry of Steel is the first ministry to come up with such a branding exercise, where a single brand identity for Indian-made steel will represent India’s strong manufacturing potential,” Scindia said.
‘Made in India’ branding has been rolled out for select products of all major ISPs.
ISPs-QCI (Quality Council of India) portal Application Programming Interface (API) integration has also been completed for label and QR code authentication, he said.
The rollout will be extended to include more products, as well as those by the SSIs in the next phase, the minister said.
“All ISPs, and 65 per cent of India’s steel products have been on-boarded with common labels finalised for all the product categories. Size and space for the Made in India logo has been allocated for each label,” the ministry said.
Made in India text will be used till the logo is finalised by DPIIT, it said. IANS
New HAL order to further boost India’s self-reliance in defence manufacturing
In a fillip to the ‘Make in India’ initiative and strengthening self-reliance in defence manufacturing, Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd (HAL) has received a request for proposal (RFP) by the Ministry of Defence for procurement of 156 light combat helicopters (LCH).
The news led to a more than 4.3 per cent jump in HAL shares to Rs 5,427 in morning trade on Tuesday. On Monday, the HAL stock jumped 4.62 per cent.
“We would like to inform that a Request for Proposal (RFP) has been issued by the Ministry of Defence for the procurement of 156 Light Combat Helicopters (90 for the Indian Army and 66 for the Indian Air Force (IAF),” said HAL in a regulatory filing.
The tender is expected to be worth Rs 45,000-Rs 50,000 crore with helicopters to be acquired by the Indian Air Force and Indian Army.
HAL saw its consolidated revenue jump of 52.19 per cent to Rs 4308.68 crore in Q4 FY24 as compared to Rs 2,831.19 crore in Q4 FY23.
The revenue from operations increased 18.36 per cent YoY to Rs 14,788.75 crore during the quarter. Meanwhile, the move by the Ministry of Defence to procure 156 light combat helicopters further emboldens the vision of Defence Minister Rajnath Singh towards achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing.
“Under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, our aim will be to further strengthen the security apparatus of the country, with a focus on achieving self-reliance in defence manufacturing,” said Minister Singh after assuming charge in the new BJP-led NDA government this month.
The policy of boosting defence production as part of the drive towards an ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat’ is increasingly reflected in the rising order books of the country’s defence equipment manufacturing companies and underlines a positive outlook for the sector ahead.Bengaluru-based Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL), a key player in the country’s defence industry, has an order book that stands at a robust Rs 75,934 crore.
Before the new 156 light combat helicopters’ order, HAL had an order book of Rs 38,561 crore and is poised for a bigger leap in technology as India and the US are ready to sign an agreement for the manufacture of advanced GE engines for military planes at HAL’s facilities.
Larsen & Toubro, another major player in the defence industry, has an extensive order book worth a staggering Rs 94,000 crore. The government’s plan of stepping up defence exports aims to catapult India as a major player in the global defence market. AGENCIES
