Indian aluminium sector needs help to take on foreign companies: Hindalco

<p>Aluminium major Hindalco on Friday sought government support to enable the domestic industry to take on what it called "foreign economic invasion" and urged it to encourage new investments.<br /><br />"We seek government support to enable domestic industry to compete with the onslaught of foreign economic invasion. We urge government to encourage new investments to make India self-sufficient to meet domestic demand and a significant player in the world market," Hindalco Managing Director Satish Pai said.<br /><br />Considering the growth potential of the aluminium industry, the sector needs policy intervention from the government, he said, speaking at the World Non-Ferrous Conference 2016 here.<br /><br />The cheap imports are eating into growing domestic demand. In the last five years, the imports from the ASEAN (FTA countries) have increased from 6 per cent of the total refined imports to 31 per cent, Pai said, adding India has enough domestic capacity in aluminium, copper and zinc to meet local demand.<br /><br /><img style="vertical-align: middle; display: block; margin-left: NaNpx; margin-right: NaNpx;" src="http://www.alcircle.com/uploads/images/profile_pic_satish_pai_big.jpg" alt="News" width="356" height="498" /><br />The government is examining the flurry of cheap aluminium imports in the country and will take a decision on imposition of minimum import price (MIP) on the metal in the next 15 days, Mines Secretary Balvinder Kumar earlier said.<br /><br />The Mines Ministry is examining the matter in great depth and has conducted 2-3 rounds of discussions with aluminium industry stakeholders, he added.<br /><br />India's GDP is expected to grow at least at 8 per cent over the next few years, promising high growth for the non-ferrous industry. With China's growth slowing, India would be the most attractive market for major producers who are struggling with low demand and surplus capacity, Pai said.<br /><br />{googleAdsense}<br /><br />The per capita consumption in India vis-a-vis the developed nations shows great potential for growth and with initiatives like Make In India and development of advanced applications, non-ferrous metals would be the real engine for economic expansion, the Director of Aditya Birla firm stated.<br /><br />The consumption of aluminium in India is poised for a healthy growth over the next five years, from 3.3 MT in 2015-16 to 5.3 MT in 2020-21. The growth is set to ride on the back of a host of government initiatives such as Make in India, Smart Cities, housing for all, rural electrification and freight corridors, a Crisil report has said.<br /><br />Pai said the industry needs to invest in R&amp;D and technological innovations to manufacture and commercialise new age applications to compete in the global world.</p>