The Indian steel industry imported about 5.7 million tonnes of scrap in 2016-17 according to the steel ministry’s annual report published in 2018. However, this is not enough to meet the growing domestic demand for scrap metal. In fact, according to a media report, India would still need over 20 million tonnes of scrap metal from indigenous sources.
With the announcement of the new vehicle scrappage policy and the coming of the BS-VI emission norms, a huge number of end-of-life vehicles will have to be scrapped. These vehicles offer great potential for India to reduce its dependence on imports for scrap steel if they are recycled in a systematic and organized manner and meet domestic demand.