India on Friday invited Japanese steel companies Nippon Steel and Daido Steel to invest in the country as part of a “Make in India” initiative and to meet the growing demand for the product in the country.

“Met Katsuhiro Miyamoto and Taisuke Nomura from Nippon Steel Corporation’s global business development team. India has a large market with a growing economy and high steel consumption.

“Nippon is eager to expand its investments in India. Invited them to bolster their presence under the #MakeInIndia initiative of the Modi government and participate in India’s growth story,” steel minister Dharmendra Pradhan said in a tweet.

Pradhan, along with senior officials of the ministry, is in Japan to attend the two-day Global Forum on Steel Excess Capacity (GFSEC).

“Met representatives of Daido Steel in Tokyo. Daido is one of the world’s largest specialty steel manufacturers, also dealing in high-performance materials, magnetic materials, parts for the automobile industry and industrial equipment,” Pradhan said.

While Daido Steel has a good presence in India through its joint ventures and various subsidiaries, Pradhan said he discussed ways to further strengthen the co-operation through technology transfer and sharing of best practices to make the local steel industry more cost-effective.

His meeting assumes significance as steel companies in Japan have shown interest in investing in India.

India is the world’s third largest steel consumer. The government aims to increase the per capita steel consumption to 160 kg by 2030.

Nippon, the minister said, is among the largest steel makers in the world, providing products for construction, automobiles, locomotives, and shipbuilding, among others.

Domestic steel prices in the country have fallen to a 34-month low in October because of a persistent demand slump from automobile and construction industries.

India’s steel demand grew 5 per cent in the first half of this fiscal, lower than the 7.5 and 7.9 per cent growth seen in 2018-19 and 2017-18, respectively.

The construction sector accounts for over 60 per cent of the country’s steel demand.

The slump in prices and weak demand are a reflection of the overall slowdown in the economy.