POSCO in India
In June 2005, POSCO signed a memorandum of understanding with the State of Orissa in India. Under the agreement, POSCO plans to invest US$12 billion to construct a plant with four blast furnaces, an electricity plant, housing, and an annual production capacity of 12,000,000 t of steel, which is slated to start production in 2010. The project, which would start with a 3,000,000 t capacity initially, would fetch revenue for the government to the tune of Rs 700 crore to Rs 800 crore (Rs 7-8 billion) annually. It would also provide direct employment to 13,000 people and ensure indirect employment for another 35,000. The Odisha state government also promised to provide a total of 600 million tons of iron sources, and will allow POSCO to use iron ore from these sources over the next 30 years. If the project goes ahead, it will be the single largest foreign direct investment in India as well as being the world's biggest greenfield steel plant ever.
However, from 2005 till date (as of August 7, 2010), the India project has not been able to proceed due to strong opposition from the local residents in the area proposed to be given for the steel plant. There have been allegations that the federal and State governments have been illegally trying to take lands and forests for the project, in violation of the Forest Rights Act.[22] There have also been claims that the project will only benefit the company while displacing more people than it employs, damaging the environment and taking India's mineral resources at a very low price.[23]
Further, a study [24] undertaken by the Mining Zone Peoples' Solidarity Group, an international research group focused on India, finds evidence of irregularities in dealings with state, bureaucracy and judiciary and questions and debunks the social, economic and environmental claims that the project has made.
The MoU between POSCO and State of Odisha expired in 2010. Following allegations that the ministry had not adhered to Forest Rights Act, Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) set up the N.C. Saxena committee in July 2010 to review the clearance. Despite the committee's report indicating that provisions of the Forest Rights Act had been violated, the MoEF issued final order on January 31, 2011, and gave environment clearance to POSCO. In May 2013, the National Green Tribunal (NGT) halted land acquisition for the POSCO projects. In July 2013, POSCO completed land acquisition despite the order given by NGT. In December 2013, POSCO began construction of a boundary wall around its plant site. In December 2013, the NGT criticised the forest clearance granted by the Union Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF) to the proposed steel plant of South Korean steel giant, POSCO, in Odisha.[25] There have been reports that during protests and land acquisition during Feb - Mar 2013, there has been bombing attack on the resisting villages and naked protest against the police atrocity.[26]
The Central Government of India came out confident on 15 January 2014 that with the renewal of environment clearance, South Korean steel giant POSCO's project in Odisha would take off soon. After a meeting with visiting South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Yoon Sang-jick, Mr. Sharma told the media: "So far, 1,700 acres of land — out of 2,718 acres — have been transferred to POSCO and the rest will soon be given." On July 17, 2015, news reported that South Korean steelmaker POSCO may halt a $12 billion US dollar plan agreed with Odisha, India a decade ago due to the delay in regulatory approvals.[27] In 2016, POSCO confirms with National Green Tribunal (NGT) that it will suspend the steel plant project in Odisha, India.[28] POSCO finally exited from this project on March 18, 2017 (Saturday).
On 13 January 2022, the Adani Group announced that it had signed an MoU with POSCO to explore the setting up of an Integrated Steel Mill in Mundra, Gujarat, with an estimated total investment of US$5 billion.[29]
