Indian traders have been scooping up Chinese steel at a deep discount, industry officials and analysts said, spooking Indian producers ahead of a seasonal pick up in domestic demand.

Lured by discounts of $30 to $50 a tonne on hot-rolled and cold-rolled products, Indian buyers are signing a flurry of import deals, they added. Domestic industrial activity is set to pick up over the next two months after the monsoon rains recede.

The share of countries like China and Vietnam in India's 4.84 LMT steel import basket during June 2023 has increased on a year-on-year (y-o-y) basis, according to official data. At 4.84 lakh metric tonne (LMT), India's overall steel import registered a 5.9 per cent increase on a month-on-month (m-o-m) basis and 7.6 per cent over June 2022, the Ministry of Steel said.

Tata Steel will fund research and development (R&D) projects in low carbon hydrogen segment under the partnership with British High Commission in India. As part of the 'UK-India Hydrogen Partnership Sprint Series', Tata Steel said it will grant 80,000 pounds (Rs 83 lakh) funding for two innovative projects in the low carbon hydrogen segment.