According to a report, India’s Finance Ministry has rejected a proposal from the Steel Ministry to create a central agency for bulk procurement of green steel. Currently, the procurement for government projects is indirectly purchased from the contractors, not directly by the government.

The Steel Ministry had suggested that an agency similar to Energy Efficiency Services Limited (EESL) would handle bulk procurement of energy-efficient products like LED lights and solar pumps. Green steel is mostly produced in environmentally friendly ways, cutting emissions and using renewable energy, etc.

However, industry experts said that the agency would not be effective since the procurement rules are different for different sectors, including road, power, and railway, for those that have their own mandates and agencies. Besides, green steel could not be easily defined from recent supplies.

Even though the Finance Ministry rejected the proposal, the Steel Ministry will keep an eye on setting up a framework for the Green Public Procurement (GPP) policy for the sector in order to lift the demand for green steel in India.