Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan has stressed on enhancing domestic steel usage in the country and reducing import dependence for meeting oil and gas sector's steel requirements. Addressing the Webinar on Atmanirbhar Bharat: Fostering Domestic Steel Usage in Oil and Gas Sector in New Delhi today, he said that steel and oil and gas sectors have close linkage and it is time to take it to a new pedestal. <br />''<br />''Mr Pradhan said that Aatmanirbhar Bharat is a strong Bharat with robust manufacturing sector, self-reliant yet globally integrated economy. He said that Indian steel sector can strive to be a major player at the global stage, only after it fulfils all the domestic requirements. The Minister added that domestic players should rise to the occasion so that cost does not escalate in our efforts to promote localization of supply chain.<br />'' <br />''On the oil and gas sector, Mr Pradhan, who is also the Minister for Petroleum and Natural Gas, said that it has seen tremendous transformation over last six years on the back of pro-investment policies. The sector is undergoing tremendous growth, be it in refineries, pipelines, gas terminals, storage capacity, gas cylinders, retail outlets, and all these require large amount of steel.<br />'' <br />''<span style="color: #222222;">Urging all the organizations in the oil and gas to procure domestic steel rather than importing them, Mr Pradhan said that the domestic steel manufacturers have all the capabilities to cater to the future requirements for steel in the sector.</span><br />