Union Minister Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma has launched three initiatives under the Steel Research Technology Mission of India (SRTMI) to enhance R&D in steelmaking within the country, according to an official announcement.

SRTMI is a joint effort by the Ministry of Steel and the domestic steel industry. Varma, the Minister of State for Steel, launched the R&D schemes along with the SRTMI web portal to encourage innovation and sustainability in the steel sector.

The schemes were unveiled at the 'Catalysing R&D in the Indian Steel Sector' event, organised by the Ministry of Steel in the national capital. The new R&D initiatives and the SteelCollab portal are set to play a key role as India aims for a 300 million tonnes steel capacity by 2030, as stated by the minister.

The first scheme, the Challenge Method, focuses on identifying and addressing critical industry challenges, while the Open Innovation Method supports research proposals from academia and researchers in collaboration with the industry.

The third initiative, the Start-up Accelerator scheme, aims to support early-stage startups in developing innovative steel technologies. The SteelCollab platform will serve as a hub to connect industry leaders, researchers, startups, and academia to foster decarbonisation, digitalisation, and the development of advanced steel technologies.