New Opportunities for Steel in Construction and Infrastructure ISA Post-Webinar Report

New opportunities for steel in Construction and Infrastructure ISA post-webinar report

Contents

About ISA ...... 3

Snapshot ...... 4

Programme agenda ...... 5

Dignitaries and key speakers ...... 7

Inaugural session...... 8

CEO forum ...... 11

Steel in Construction and Infrastructure ...... 13

Annexure – Speaker profiles ...... 15

About ISA

Established in August 2014, the Indian Steel Association (ISA) represents major public and private sector steel enterprises of India.

The association has 14 members – five full members and nine affiliates – which together account for 65% of crude steel production in India. The full members include both of India's public-sector companies – Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) – while heavyweights from the private sector include JSW Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel Ltd.

The ISA interacts closely with the Ministry of Steel, and other ministries and government departments.

The association is the voice of the Indian steel industry, in both domestic and global forums. As a not-for-profit society, it has been entrusted with the responsibility of communicating the viewpoints of its constituents to all stakeholders. The ISA is, therefore, at the forefront of all deliberations pertaining to public and regulatory policy, raw materials, international trade, logistics, environmental concerns, technology and all other aspects related to steelmaking.

In addition to its work at home, the ISA, an affiliate member of the World Steel Association (WSA), is busy on the world stage. The ISA regularly collaborates with the WSA on the organisation of events, as well as taking part in other key meetings with global partners.

The vision of the ISA is to create the best possible environment for Indian Steel production and give a common voice to all the major public and private steel enterprises in the country; to be the voice of the Indian Steel Industry both at national and international levels and to represent an unflinching commitment to quality, productivity, competitiveness, innovation and sustainability.

Snapshot

The ISA organised the second edition of its webinar on ‘New opportunities for steel in Construction and Infrastructure’ on January 15, 2021. The webinar was supported by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, with the Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel, Dharmendra Pradhan as the Chief Guest and Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Steel, Mr. Faggan Singh Kulaste as the Guest of Honour.

The webinar drew participation from industry leaders, steel players, miners, traders, government dignitaries, consultants, research firms, banks and media. It focussed on new opportunities for steel and fresh perspectives on steel usage in the Construction and Infrastructure space. Prominent industry leaders from the steel, Construction and Infrastructure sectors attended the webinar and also shared their thoughts and highlighted new opportunities for use of steel. There were in all 369 attendees, 25 panellists, three hosts/ co-hosts and six participants to support panellists (total 409). Several office staff of ministers had also joined the webinar through the link sent to ministers.

The inaugural session was opened by Bhaskar Chatterjee, Secretary General & Executive Head, ISA, followed by the presentation of theme knowledge paper by CRISIL Research. This was followed by addresses from government and industry stalwarts. Recognising the steel industry as the foundation for development of our economy, the speakers highlighted the importance of innovation and the course of progress to be on a par with global economies. They also spoke about the role of steel in Construction and design through adoption of cutting-edge technology.

The next session, CEO forum, saw industry stalwarts speak on the importance of improving the intensity of steel in Construction and Infrastructure in a sustainable manner. Emphasis was on enhancing the sustainability of steel production in India.

The last session – Steel in Construction and Infrastructure – delved deeper into the crux of steel consumption in the Construction and Infrastructure segment as eminent panellists discussed the way ahead for the steel sector.

Overwhelming participation and enlightening discussions made the second edition of ISA steel webinar a forum for the entire industry to come together and share knowledge for the growth of the steel industry.

Programme agenda

Dignitaries and key speakers

Chief Guest: Dharmendra Pradhan, Union Minister of Steel

Guest of Honour: Faggan Singh Kulaste, Union Minister of State for Steel

Key speakers and panel members

● Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless

● Amish Mehta, COO, CRISIL

● Amrit Abhijat, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

● Ashok V Bhardwaj, Director, Stallion LGSF Machines

● C Devarajan, Managing Director, URC Construction Pvt Ltd

● Isha Chaudhary, Director, CRISIL Research

● Justin Jebakumar, Director – Government Relations, Habitat for Humanity India

● Pankaj Malhan, Whole Time Director, ESL Steel Ltd

● Pradosh Kumar Rath, Chairman & Managing Director, RINL

● Pritish Sen, Advisor cum Interim-In-Charge, Institute for Steel Development & Growth (INSDAG)

● R P Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council

● Rasika Chaube, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Steel

● Rayed Abdullah Al-Ajaji, CEO, UNICOIL, and Chairman, NCSI

● Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group

● Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Vice President, JSW Steel

● Saptarshi Saha, Head – Plate Sales, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India

● Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director & Group CFO, JSW Steel

● Sushim Banerjee, Former Director General, INSDAG

Inaugural session

Welcome address: Bhaskar Chatterjee, Secretary General & Executive Head, ISA

Chief Guest: Dharmendra Pradhan, Hon’ble Union Minister of Steel

Guest of Honour: Faggan Singh Kulaste, Hon’ble Union Minister of State for Steel

Key speakers

● Amish Mehta, COO, CRISIL

● Isha Chaudhary, Director, CRISIL Research

● Rasika Chaube, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Steel

● Amrit Abhijat, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs

● Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless

● Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group

Session highlights

Steel veterans, industry leaders, government members and research houses discussed the global and domestic steel scenario in the pandemic era, growth drivers for Infrastructure and building and Construction (B&C) space, expected steel demand growth from the same and way ahead for Indian steelmakers to bridge the gap between per capita steel usage in India and global average.

● Finished steel consumption grew 4.5% during fiscals 2013-2019 led by B&C and Infrastructure segments. While steel demand growth was robust at 9% in fiscal 2019 driven by pre-election spend by the government, it struggled in fiscal 2020 led by the twin impact of consumption slowdown and lull in Construction activities

● Covid-19 pandemic hit steel demand in the first half of fiscal 2021, wherein steel demand fell by 30% on-year, but ever since, especially from August, both Construction as well as automotive and manufacturing sectors are back on track with 7% growth in the third quarter of fiscal 2021. In the last quarter of fiscal 2021, CRISIL Research foresees the momentum to continue, especially from stalled Construction projects and a low base of last year, which can limit contraction in volume to 9-11% for fiscal 2021

● Steel demand is expected to rise to fiscal 2020 levels in fiscal 2022 with a further upside dependent on vaccine effectiveness. In the medium term, CRISIL Research foresees steel demand to grow 7-7.5%, which would be above the trend line of the past decade

● Share of Construction, i.e., B&C, and Infrastructure is highest at 62% in India vs 55% for China and even less for developed nations like the United States (US) and Japan. A few reasons can explain the dispersion. While China has a higher base of machinery and engineered goods and high automotive production for Japan, the US has relatively less steel intensity in their houses and hence lower share of Construction and Infrastructure in steel demand.

● Several government-led schemes under the National Infrastructure Pipeline (NIP) will play a critical role going ahead for steel demand. The largest is Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), on both urban and rural side, which holds a potential for consuming nearly 40 million tonne of steel through the project lifecycle and contribute to 5-6% of annual steel demand. Though the scheme was to be completed by 2022, less than one-third of houses have been constructed till date on both urban and rural side

● The Bharatmala Pariyojana, which aims to construct 85,000 km of national highway in two phases, should translate into at least 20 million tonne of direct steel demand, not accounting for indirect impact of Construction. Government push and structural factors like urbanisation will play a key role in enhancing steel demand from the Construction space

● Almost Rs 80 lakh crore of physical assets built in the country in the past 25 years have aged and require retrofitting and repairs. Steel has a role to play here too

● Development of rolled products made of high-strength and corrosion-resistant steel so that the cost difference between RCC and Construction steel, 30-40%, can be minimised is important

● The industry experts foresee Indian Railways DFC and metro rail projects to propel steel demand growth. Investments in metro rail Construction is expected to rise by 1.3 times over the next four years as against the past four, led by Mumbai Metro, some phases of Gurgaon Metro and those in southern cities

● The industry needs to focus on 700-750 strength TOR steel in India, which will reduce the tonnage in infra Construction. Currently, high-strength steel is not used widely in India

● India has the second largest road network in the world with strong opportunities for the steel industry. With the launch of various government schemes under the NIP, demand for steel will also rise

● Work from home culture will lead to real estate development as people upgrade to bigger homes. New airports and railways and remodelling of railways and roads will increase demand for steel fabrication

● CRISIL Research foresees building Construction to see a modest growth of 5-6% over the next four years led by three key drivers:

− Around 1.2 billion sq ft of real estate is under Construction across top 10 cities, which is due for delivery in the next three years as per Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA) deadlines

− On the rural side, Constructions / conversion to pucca houses with two back-to-back good agricultural years

− Affordable housing programme would gain its sheen back after two dull years as 30 lakh units are under Construction in urban areas and 40 lakh units have been approved

● Steel demand from Infrastructure would also see a healthy 8-10% growth over the next four years led by the NIP

CEO forum

This session provided a distinctive opportunity for the steel industry to gain invaluable insights on the leadership, vision and strategy instrumental in steering through the present and future challenges in a fast-changing business environment. Indian and international industry captains shared key drivers for steel demand from the Infrastructure and Construction space.

Session chair: Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director & Group CFO, JSW Steel

Panel participants

● Pritish Sen, Advisor cum Interim-In-Charge, INSDAG

● Pankaj Malhan, Whole Time Director, ESL Steel Ltd

● R P Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council

● Rayed Abdullah Al-Ajaji, CEO, UNICOIL, and Chairman, NCSI

Session highlights

● Sustainable Construction is important. Sustainable Development Index of India is low with a rank of 117 (of total 193) in achieving the 17 sustainable development goals. Sustainable steel manufacturing is a necessity, and India needs to work towards a sustainable future like other countries

● Significant opportunities in rural market. The rural sector will be a key driver for steel demand from B&C and Infrastructure segments. Key government projects with lot of focus on rural markets, such as MNREGA and PMAY-G, will drive demand. Increasing rural connectivity to cities in order to improve rural livelihoods will further drive demand

● Use of steel structures instead of RCC for railway bridges and roads will intensify steel consumption as steel structure is more steel intensive

● Strong penetration of colour-coated flats in rural market. We need to strive further to reach rural India with steel. Urbanisation and affordability are the two key parameters for this. There is a need to get steel into buildings and buildings into steel

● Land availability and single-window approvals for projects will give a fillip not only to steel but also to the capital goods sector, which is steel intensive. Further, technological developments are also required for effective manufacturing which will allow India to produce steel economically, sustainably

● Green alternatives of manufacturing steel is the new trend. Industry participants also deliberated on the role of steel in Construction as a green alternative with added benefits of strength and durability. This might entail government support in terms of policy guidelines

● Urgent need to bridge the steel usage gap. Per capita consumption of steel in India is low at 74 kg as against the world average of 229 kg. It is far lower in rural India. Much work is required to bring India to the world average

Steel in Construction and Infrastructure

The session focussed on the role of steel in Construction and Infrastructure in line with the theme topic and delved deeper into increasing avenues for steel consumption in India. Focus was on key trends in the Construction and Infrastructure space along with a roadmap for the way forward.

Session chair: P K Rath, Chairman & Managing Director, RINL

Session co-chair: Sushim Banerjee, Former Director General, INSDAG

Panel participants

● Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Vice President, JSW Steel

● Saptarshi Saha, Head – Plate Sales, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India

● C Devarajan, Managing Director, URC Construction Pvt Ltd

● Justin Jebakumar, Director – Government Relations, Habitat for Humanity India

● Ashok V Bhardwaj, Director, Stallion LGSF Machines

Session highlights

● Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel to lower imports. India currently imports specialty steel products as these are not manufactured in the country due to technological reasons. The new incentive structure under the PLI scheme will help reduce dependence on imports in coming time

● Real estate sector witnessed massive growth in the last quarter of 2020, post pandemic, with 26,785 new residential units being constructed (more than twice that in September 2020 quarter, indicating a boom in housing. Overall growth in the real estate sector will be mainly from the affordable housing sector. Rising steel applications, especially in roofing, will increase steel demand

● On average, around 900 kg steel is used on a vehicle. Use of new and advanced high-strength steel will help the auto sector reduce vehicle weight by 25-30%

● Steel intensity in housing as well as Infrastructure can be increased by introduction of steel composite design as well as light gauge steel frame in affordable housing. Within the building

segments, we will see a transition to metal roofing in rural areas given that two-thirds of houses have kutcha roofing (as per 2011 census) and in urban areas, rising share of PEB, especially in warehousing and airport buildings, will aid demand as majority of the components such as column, rafter and purlin, are made of steel. And lastly, use of steel structures instead of RCC for bridges in railways and roads will also intensify steel consumption

● Light gauge steel Construction technology is an efficient modular Construction method where high-tensile, galvanised, cold rolled sections form the skeletal structure of buildings. This technology will also help reduce sand and water use, thereby reducing wastage

Annexure – Speaker profiles

Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director, Jindal Stainless

A Boston University graduate in economics and business management, Jindal has wide ranging experience in project management, supply chain systems, and strategic and general management. Currently, he is the Managing Director of Jindal Stainless. He is also the Co-Chair for FICCI's Steel Committee. Jindal started his career with the JSW Group. He played a prominent role in the stake acquisition of Ispat Industries and post-acquisition integration of JSW and Ispat. He then moved on to the Boston Consulting Group, where he managed project consultancy for diverse industries, including steel. Having gained a deep understanding of the industrial manufacturing arena, Jindal entered the $2.79 billion (as of March 2020) Jindal Stainless. Today, he is shaping Jindal Stainless into a far more dynamic, responsive, predictive, and solution-based organisation by taking initiatives to improve supply chain and operational efficiencies. As a leader in the stainless-steel landscape of the country, he has unlocked new avenues for providing stainless solutions to stakeholders with a vision to improve lives. It was under his stewardship that JSHL bolstered its unique competitive advantage in the manufacturing of special stainless steel grades for nuclear and defence sectors, built uncontested market leadership, and forayed into new fields.

Amish Mehta, COO, CRISIL

Mehta is the COO at CRISIL Ltd, having transitioned from the role of CFO. He oversees the business of India Research, Small and Medium Enterprises Ratings, Global Analytical Centre, Growth Innovation and Excellence Hub in addition to the corporate strategy for the organisation. He has over 25 years of experience with leadership roles in several large companies across industries and functions. He is a chartered accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India. He has previously worked as the CFO with Indus Towers Ltd, as the Director of Finance with Castrol India Ltd, and in senior roles in Ernst & Young Pvt Ltd and Mobil India Pvt Ltd.

Ashok V Bhardwaj, Director, Stallion LGSF Machines

Bhardwaj has over 38 years of experience in reputed Indian and multi-national companies like JSW Steel, Mercedes-Benz India, Tata Motors and FIAT, in sales and marketing, business development, strategy and project management in steel and auto sectors. He has worked in top

management positions of Director / HoD having been well exposed to working at the Field, Branch, Region and HQs.

Presently, he is the Director and CEO of Stallion LGSF Machines based out of Mumbai, which sells branded hi-tech, state-of-the-art, durable and affordable capital machinery and equipment manufactured by established global manufacturers; these equipment have the potential to revolutionise the Construction industry. Bhardwaj is a mechanical engineer from the Birla Institute of Technology and Science, Pilani, and an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad. His interests include reading, academics in B-schools, consulting and sports

C Devarajan, Managing Director, URC Construction Pvt Ltd

Devarajan was born on May 12, 1961, as the beloved second son of UR Chinnusamy and C Thulasiammal of A Anumanpalli village near Erode, with a strong traditional and spiritual background. He did his schooling from Ramakrishna Mission Vidyalaya, Coimbatore, and later obtained his degree in civil and structural engineering from Annamalai University in 1984. He has about 35 years of experience in Construction and Infrastructure development. He was responsible for steering URC to greater heights and diversifying the business into housing, software and project consultancy management. The 63-year-old URC now caters to about 15,000 families through direct and indirect employment. He has gained experience and expertise by handling more than 500 diversified projects over the period of 35 years. He was the driving force behind establishing URC Gurukulam, a skill development school for Construction workers. The Co- Founder and Vice-Chairman of Erode Textile Mall Ltd, a textile trade centre consisting of thousands of textile shops, which caters to the business needs of textile traders of Erode, and implemented “Green concept” in administrative and corporate offices of URC. As an Educationalist - With profound thrust in educational activities he contributes as Secretary and Correspondent of ‘URC Palaniammal Matriculation Higher Secondary School’ run by ‘URC Educational and Charitable Trust’ having around 2100 students, Founder Trustee and Former Secretary & Correspondent of ‘Kongu Vellalar Institute of Technology Trust’ which runs a prestigious college namely Kongu Engineering College, Perundurai, Founder Trustee and Former Chairman of ‘Erode Builders Educational Trust’ near Kangeyam which runs a renowned Engineering College called EBET College of Technology.

Isha Chaudhary, Director, CRISIL Research

Chaudhary has around 15 years of experience in industry analysis, company research and engaging in bespoke research assignments with an array of clients. She has strong domain expertise in commodities (metals and cement), Infrastructure, real estate, and technology, media and telecom segments. She has extensive experience in engaging with diverse stakeholders across ministries, associations, banks, corporates, and global mining and trading firms. She is adept at business intelligence, thought leadership, financial analysis and team management. She has led new product developments, especially in the commodities space, apart from driving regular research engagements. Prior to CRISIL, Chaudhary worked with Boston Analytics for 2.5 years in the research field. She holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in electronics and instrumentation from Haryana University and a Postgraduate Diploma in Business Administration from the University of Mumbai.

Justin Jebakumar, Director – Government Relations, Habitat for Humanity India

Jebakumar has spent more than 25 years in the development sector. He has two post-graduate degrees: in social work and hospital management (University of Leeds, United Kingdom). He has a passion to serve the economically weaker section of the society, to ensure that people have decent shelter and sanitation. He strongly believes that having a decent shelter will change the lives of families and transform communities. He has been part of many state-level forums to bring in policy-level changes in the housing and sanitation sectors. He was instrumental in making certain states become open defecation free and received state-level recognition for his exemplary contributions for the development interventions. Currently, he is working as the Director - Government Relations with the Habitat for Humanity India.

Pankaj Malhan, Whole Time Director, ESL Steel Ltd

Malhan is the CEO and Whole time Director of ESL Steel Ltd, Vedanta Group. He has been spearheading the steel business arm of the Vedanta Group since October 2018. He has a Bachelor of Technology degree from NIT Jalandhar and a Post Graduate Degree in Business Management from XLRI Jamshedpur. Along with more than two decades of diverse experience, he is known for his participative and delegating leadership style. He has a diverse range of experience including start-up management, leading business turnaround strategies, project management, supply chain management across industries and projects, and ensuring higher rate

of organic growth with key focus on top line profitability by ensuring optimal utilisation of resources. The leadership efforts deployed by Malhan have resulted in the revival of ESL, which is now set to take another growth path. He believes in channelising efforts in the right direction and right place, and hence, initiated a culture of developing leadership at various units of Plant. First time in ESL, he implemented the concept of creating strategic business units and empowered the leaders with required authority and decision-making power. Under his marketing initiatives, in 2019, the company re-branded its three existing products – TMT bars as V-XEGA, ductile iron pipes as V-DUCPIPE and wire rods as V-WIRRO – and became the first company to brand commercial wire rods in the country. He also serves as the Chairman at ASSOCHAM, Jharkhand State Development Council, and as a member at CII’s Jharkhand State Council. His hobbies include swimming, travelling and reading.

Pradosh Kumar Rath, Chairman & Managing Director, RINL

Rath, Chairman & Managing Director of RINL, is a graduate in metallurgical engineering from the National Institute of Technology Warangal. He also has a master’s degree in business administration in human resources and marketing from Andhra University. He joined Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, RINL, in 1983 as a management trainee (technical). Prior to assuming the charge of Chairman & Managing Director, he was the Director (Operations) and has worked in various capacities in the plant.

Rath has vast experience of over 38 years in the steel industry, having worked extensively in steelmaking and continuous casting processes. During the critical period of commissioning of Stage 1 and 2 units, Rath contributed significantly to the stabilisation and ramp-up of production in a very short time. He is an accomplished metallurgist and has spearheaded a number of research and development projects initiated in-house, which improved operational efficiencies immensely.

Pritish Sen, Advisor cum Interim-In-Charge, INSDAG

Sen is currently working as the Advisor cum Interim-In-charge of INSDAG set up by the Ministry of Steel and major steel producers like SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW, RINL and later joined by JSPL and Essar (now Arcelor Mittal Nippon Steel India). He superannuated from Tata Steel in end-2018 after ~35 years of service in different positions in Plant, Marketing, Strategy, International Consortium, Market Research & External Affairs and other divisions. He is a graduate in

mechanical engineering with an MTech in industrial engineering and operations research. He has more than three and half decades of industry experience in various fields such as steel plant, project, planning, industrial engineering, marketing, strategy, ERP implementation, international consortium operation, market research, external affairs and managing professional bodies. He was on secondment to the WSA, Brussels, on Living Steel consortium from Tata Steel and solely responsible for team India project right from its formation to implementation of the international winning architectural residential steel building christened as “Restello” in New Town, Kolkata. It is the first of its kind international architect winning design steel residential building in India. Actively involved in professional bodies such as Indian Institutes of Management (chairman of IIM Kolkata for four years, and member of Executive Council & AFRC); Co-Chairman of MSME and Manufacturing of Bengal Chamber of Commerce & Industry, life member of Indian Value Engineering Society, and Vice President of Millennium Institute of Energy & Environment Management. He is also associated with many social organisations. He is a member of the Governing Body of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur in Science & Technology Entrepreneurs' Park.

R P Swarup, Director General, Construction Industry Development Council

An IIT Kanpur graduate, Swarup has extensive experience in engineering design, Construction management project exports, technology transfer and regulatory issues and has served several prestigious domestic and international consultancy and Construction companies for over two decades. He joined the Construction Industry Development Council in 1996 as the first Director and rose to the position of Director General. He contributed majorly in Construction Equipment Bank, Grading of Construction Entities and HRD in Construction Industry. Swarup obtained his PhD from Rajiv Gandhi Technical University, Bhopal, on evolving a workable model for assessing the business risks in Construction operations. He has also been conferred with a DSc (Honoris Causa) by Assam University, India, for his outstanding contributions to the development of scientific and technological applications. He has served as the Member Secretary of the Working Group on Construction and as a member of working groups on hydro power, surface transport and housing, for development of 10th, 11th and 12th national plans. He also serves as a member of several UNCITRAL working groups. He is responsible for establishing several institutions to bring about improvement in the functioning of Construction industry.

Some of his major achievements include establishment of the National Academy of Construction, Hyderabad; Chhattisgarh Nirman Academy Raipur, Construction Industry Arbitration Council, and Asian Construction & Concrete Institute. Swarup is a Fellow of the Institution of Engineers, Hon Fellow of the Actuarial Society of India, Fellow of the Institution of Surveyors, and serves on the boards of several institutions and corporate houses. He is currently the Senior Vice President of the International Council of Consultants, and Secretary General of CARM, CIVTC, CIPDTC and IndSTT.

Rayed Abdullah Al-Ajaji, CEO, UNICOIL, and Chairman, NCSI

Rayed is the CEO of UNICOIL since 2013. He has over 20 years of experience in various sectors of steel industry in Saudi Arabia in flat and long products segments, covering commercial, technical, as well as business remodelling. He has a master's degree in industrial engineering and management from the University of Miami, US.

Faced with the challenge of dumping of imported inferior quality products in the GCC, especially the Saudi market, it was a challenging task for Rayed to put the coil coating industry in Saudi Arabia on the path to revival. It involved many external and internal interventions such as setting national technical and commercial standards, activation of WTO regulations, modification of ASTM standards, establishing of an educational reference for the metal coating industry in the region apart from carrying out restructuring of the organisation using lean engineering principles. In 2017, Rayed was elected the Chairman of the Saudi National Committee for Steel Industry (NCSI) and re-elected in 2020 for another three years. The NCSI emanated from the Council of Saudi Chambers established in 2014 by major steel producers in Saudi Arabia. As the Chairman of NCSI, he successfully initiated the first iron and steel conference (SIIS2019) in Saudi Arabia in 2019.

Sajjan Jindal, Chairman, JSW Group

An accomplished business leader and a second-generation entrepreneur, Jindal had the foresight to lead the steel industry and JSW, in particular, on a transformational journey, contributing significantly to India's growth philosophy. A mechanical engineer, Jindal led the JSW Group through some of its most exciting phases, including the public offer announcement of JSW Steel and JSW Energy in 1995 and 2009, respectively. Today, the group is a leader in the business landscape across Infrastructure, sports and cement, with the group revenue over $12 billion.

Jindal has been awarded on many global platforms for his contribution and commendable work. Awards include CEO of the Year 2019 by Business Standard, Best CEO Award 2019 by Business Today Magazine, Outstanding Business Leader of the Year 2018 by IBLA - CNBC TV18 and 2014 National Metallurgist Award: Industry, instituted by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India, to name a few. He is currently the Vice Chairman of the WSA. He was also a former president of the ISA and INSDAG, and a council member of the Indian Institute of Metals.

Sanjay Agarwal, Senior Vice President, JSW Steel

Agrawal holds a bachelor’s degree in metallurgical engineering from IIT Kanpur. He is a commercially astute strategic leader and creative problem solver with extensive experience of 34 years leading such high profile customer loyalty pioneers for flat and long steel products and handled various demanding assignments and verticals. He believes that steel and commodities in a larger sense have huge untapped potential, where consumer involvement can be increased through ingenious strategies.

Saptarshi Saha, Head – Plate Sales, ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India

Saptarshi has 15 years of steel industry experience. He joined ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel (erstwhile Essar Steel) as a management trainee. He has been associated with the service centre, marketing and sales and planning and administration functions during his tenure. Currently, he heads Plate Sales. He is an IIT Kharagpur graduate and holds an MBA from IIM Ahmedabad.

Seshagiri Rao, Joint Managing Director & Group CFO, JSW Steel

Rao is the Joint Managing Director & Group CFO of JSW Steel and responsible for overall operations of JSW Steel including strategy formulation related to business development, expansion of existing businesses, joint ventures, mergers and acquisitions and cost management. He possesses extensive experience spanning over three decades in the steel sector and in corporate finance and banking. He joined the JSW Group in 1997 as the CFO and has played an active role in its growth strategies since then. He has been actively involved in strategic decision making within the group and has over the years, grown with JSW Steel to progressively shoulder higher responsibilities. Prior to joining JSW Steel, he has worked with various reputed organisations in various capacities. He is a member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India and a licentiate member of the Institute of Company Secretaries of India. He is also a

certified associate of the Indian Institute of Bankers and a diploma holder in business finance awarded by the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts of India.

Sushim Banerjee, Former Director General, INSDAG

Banerjee is a post graduate in economics (gold medallist) from Presidency University. He also has a Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from the All India Management Association, New Delhi. He completed a training in industrial research at Fordham University, New York, during May-July 1988. As the Executive Director (Commercial), SAIL, New Delhi, Banerjee was involved in working out strategies and policies for the marketing division of the company. He was also the Chief Risk Officer of SAIL and instituted enterprise risk management in plants and other units of SAIL.

He has published several reports and presented papers on steel demand, linkages of economic growth with various industrial segments, globalisation, international trade, anti-dumping and WTO issues relating to steel in national and international seminars. Banerjee is a member of the National Committee on Steel of both CII and FICCI. Till recently, he worked as the Director General, INSDAG, Kolkata, an institute set up by the Ministry of Steel and major steel producers like SAIL, TATA, RINL, JSW, Essar Steel and Ispat Industries to promote steel consumption in the country by making innovative and cost-effective steel-based structural designs.

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