Write a detailed note on iron …

The iron & steel industry is the basic industry since all the other industries-heavy, medium & light, depend on it for their machinery. Steel is needed to manufacture a variety of engineering goods, construction material, defense, medical, telephonic, scientific equipment & a variety of consumer goods. Production & consumption of steel is often regarded as the index of a country's development. Iron & steel industry is a heavy industry. Iron ore, coking coal & lime stone are required in the ratio of approximately 4:2:1. Some quantities of manganese, are also required to harden the steel. In 2016 with 95.6 million tonnes of crude steel production, India ranked 3rd among the world crude steel producers. It is the largest producer of sponge iron. Most of the public sector undertakings market their steel through Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL). Chhotanagpur plateau region has the maximum concentration of iron and steel industries in India.