We are ramping up production to add new product lines

RAHUL SHARMA

CEO, Vedanta Aluminium

How do you look at the year 2023?

We, at Vedanta Aluminium, are quite optimistic about 2023. The momentum of the global transition to clean technologies is accelerating and this shift will be metal-intensive, increasing demand for sustainable materials like aluminium. The global aluminium industry is already the fastest growing metal industry today, and its demand is expected to increase from 86 million tonnes in 2020 to 120 million tonnes in 2030. India's demand is expected to double to approximately 8 million tonnes by 2030, driven by a surge in building & construction, transportation, packaging, electrical, defense, aerospace, and aviation.

Vedanta Aluminium, as one of the world's top aluminium producers and India's largest producer of aluminium, is well resourced to meet this growing demand. In FY22, we produced more than half of India's aluminium at 2.26 million tonnes, catering to all major growth sectors in over 50 countries through a diverse array of market-leading products.

What could be the key challenges and what will drive the growth?

To truly unlock the potential of the Indian aluminium industry and make India the manufacturing and value-addition hub of the world, there are four key levers that the government must act upon:

• First, promotion of domestically produced aluminium usage in government projects should be a priority area. With the aim to make India a USD 5 trillion economy, the government is rolling out numerous high-impact projects, which have ample opportunities for aluminium.
• Second, focus should be given to build domestic capability for critical application development for the aforementioned industry sectors under Make in India. Aluminium has potential for myriad uses, majority of which are yet to be explored by the domestic downstream sectors.
• Third, the potential of the aluminium industry should be acknowledged and recognised as a core sector with a National Aluminium Policy that will encourage, protect, and boost the domestic aluminium industry. Alongside this, the domestic industry should be made globally cost-competitive, rationalization of inverted duty structure on critical raw materials, raw material security etc.
• And finally, the domestic capability needs to be promoted in these critical sectors (electrical, automobile, building & construction). Besides enhancing domestic capacity and reducing import dependency and subsequently trade deficit, it will also generate huge employment opportunities in our country with its rich talent pool. We are on the right path, but there is still a long way to go.

How are you gearing up for the year ahead?

Looking at the growth prospects of aluminium consumption, we are ramping up production to add new product lines at our Aluminium Smelters at Jharsuguda and BALCO in Chhattisgarh. This will diversify our product mix to cater to emerging demand for aluminium in sunrise sectors like electric vehicles, high-tech manufacturing, renewables, consumer goods and strategic sectors like aerospace and defence.

We aim to be the world's most customer-centric and sustainable producer of aluminium. We are also investing in the digital transformation of our plants & processes, leveraging green technologies, diversifying our energy mix to include renewables, and working towards our vision of net zero carbon.

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