A worker stacks steel pipes in the western
Indian city of Ahmedabad November 4, 2014. REUTERS/Amit Dave/Files Acquire Licensing Rights
NEW DELHI, Dec 20 (Reuters) - India's steel demand will
likely slow in the next financial year beginning March as a mammoth general
election will delay government projects and infrastructure spending, analysts
and industry executives said.
Steady government spending on infrastructure projects propelled
India, the world's second-biggest crude steel producer, into one of the
fastest-growing markets for the alloy globally, even as world demand slackened.
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But steel demand is expected to grow at a modest 7%-10% in the
2024-25 fiscal year, slower than a projected 11%-12% growth in the current year
to March 2024, the analysts and industry executives said.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party
will seek a third term in the next general elections due in early 2024.
Staggered voting in India's general elections, the world's largest democratic
exercise, takes place for weeks.