New Delhi, Aug 23 (IANS): Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Tuesday emphasised on the need to promote domestically produced steel or 'Made In India' steel, as self-reliance in its production was a top priority.

Addressing the Indian Minerals and Metals Industry conference, the minister said that in order to promote domestic steel, the government has also introduced a productivity linked incentive scheme for specialised steel, which has an outlay of more than Rs 6,000 crore.

He said that from being a net importer, India has now become a net exporter of steel.

"In the last eight years, several reforms have taken place in the steel sector, due to which India's production capacity has gone up from 102 million tonnes in 2013-14 to 154 million tonnes in the current fiscal", Scindia further said.

Even the per capita consumption of steel has gone up from 57 kg per person to 78 kg per person.

Expressing concern over the higher carbon emissions in the steel sector, Scindia said that by 2030 these levels need to come down by 30 per cent to 40 per cent.