INDIA LOCKDOWN: Mills including JSW to raise output as restrictions loosen

India has announced that it will extend its countrywide lockdown under the Covid-19 pandemic for a second time, but the creation of high- and low-risk zones in the country has meant that some steel producers were now increasing production levels once more.

Indian steelmaking giant JSW has started to ramp-up steel output again after receiving government approval and instituting social-distancing procedures at its plants, the firm announced in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) on Monday May 4.
JSW had announced on March 26 that it intended to dramatically scale down steel output over India's lockdown period, which was initially planned to end in mid-April.
The company reported a 60% drop in its crude steel output during April, producing 5.63 million tonnes of steel, with average capacity utilization of 38%, the statement said.
It added that the "further relaxations, to commence some more additional economic activities, is a step in the right direction in reviving sentiment and in gradually restoring the confidence to rejuvenate the economy."

On May 1, the Indian government announced a further two-week extension to the country's lockdown, which would take it to May 18....

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