ABSTRACT
The Indian policy makers in the steel industry are the belief that it is only the integrated steel mills that are technologically competent and must be encouraged. Tracking technology growth in India, this chapter observes that if there has been a genuine growth of indigenous technology, then it has been around the electric furnaces and sponge iron producers of the country; in other words, the smaller players have led the technology growth in the country. The growth of the small sector of steel production, from a mere 15" of the steel production in 1980s, to presently over 50", is the result of the high technology growth among the smaller producers. Specialization between large and small plants was, in fact, in the original scheme of things, in the days of the industrial licenses and price controls. Indian iron ore is rich in ferrous content, but is also high in phosphorous. This makes it very useful for the production of flat steel.
