India has overtaken Japan to become the world's second largest steel producer.

Ensuring good quality steel in infrastructure projects is the need of the hour!

The government's thrust on infrastructure, which is one of the key end-user industries for the steel business, is an encouraging trend for steel demand. Within infrastructure, significantly higher capital expenditure earmarked for affordable housing, power transmission and railways is likely to augment steel demand.

The preliminary challenge in investing in companies already under insolvency proceedings is - reversal of the order by appellate authority viz. NCLAT or the Supreme Court, explains Ashish Parwani, Partner, Rajani Associates.

With over Rs11 lakh crore debt, project investments worth Rs.32.7 lakh crore and cost overrun of Rs14.35 lakh crore is at stake, the current Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code 2016 is a sigh of relief for India's financial institutions.

On July 1, 2017 a new tax regime, in the works since over 15 years, designed as 'One Nation, One Tax', went live! Its impact on infrastructure will resolve future litigation in this area and although will mean higher tax, will also allow input tax credit in many categories.

EssarPorts, which operates port terminals on the east and west coasts of India, hasrecorded a 25 percent growth in cargo traffic in FY 2016-17.

Essar Steel India Limited (EStIL) has substantially improved its performance for the year ended March 31, 2017. The total flat steel production registered a growth of 47 per cent at 5.6 million tonnes (MT), compared to 3.8 MT in the corresponding period last year. Pellet production also grew by 60 per cent to 9.3 MT compared to 5.8 MT in the same period last year.

Building entire villages made of prefabricated steel, large steel silos to store food grains across the country and increase in steel components in highways, flyovers, bridges, automobiles and aviation can stimulate domestic demand for the metal, according to experts from the steel industry.