The Ukraine-Russian conflict has been going on for a year, but its impacts are still being felt as trade uncertainty raises the cost of manufacturing for steel producers. Several large economies are simultaneously still waiting for demand to pick up. Given the current unsteady macroeconomic situation, the Indian technology sector is still robust and will reach $245 billion in FY2023, with issues becoming obvious by FY2024. The sector will be impacted by decision-making delays, pressure on demand, and more technological regulation.

The world’s two largest manufacturers of steel and raw materials are Russia and Ukraine. These two nations will export steel in the amount of 48 million tonnes in 2021, making up nearly 10% of the world’s total steel commerce. Also, these two nations produce the majority of the raw materials, including coal, metallics, iron ore, and pellets.

In 2021, Russia exported roughly 32 million tonnes of coal. According to reports, once Europe stopped purchasing coal from Russia, that nation concentrated on growing its exports to China, which caused an increase in shipments in 2022. The supply chain issue has led to a rise in coking coal and steel costs across the board.

A boom occurred, which had an impact on demand. Due to the drop in demand and the growing stocks of expensive raw materials, steel mills are now experiencing losses rather than profits. Its effects were evident in the second and third quarters of FY2023, where performance was strong.

If we reflect on the past, we can see that supply chain-related Commodity prices increased as a result of the obstacles. Prices have decreased a little with the times but are still only a few per tonne. Expenses are still high and could be for a while. A high-cost production structure is about to start. The Indian economy anticipates an increase in coking coal consumption in the second half. Steel plant margins are still being squeezed by expenses.

The Indian market has gotten stronger in terms of demand. Experts predict that India’s steel consumption would likely continue strong and increase by 10–12% in FY2023 and 8–10% in FY24. Gandhi contends that the second half of 2023 will see the highest worldwide demand.

In the IT sector, it is obvious that the statistics for FY 2023 have already been impacted if we compare them to those for FY 2022. The industry group NASSCOM, which represents the Indian IT sector, has dubbed the next year as “Priming for a No Normal Future” in its Strategic Review 2023.

According to the Strategy Review, several domestic market areas including IT services, BPM, software, ER&D, and others are anticipated to reach $194 billion in FY2023, which is anticipated in FY2022. There is a speed of up to 9.4% percent in comparison to this.

Yet the sector is leery of making any growth predictions for the future. “The trends we are hearing from various CEOs are cautious yet positive,” the president of NASSCOM stated. We are aware that expenditure on technology will rise and that jobs are being generated. Yet we are also aware of how serious the issues are. According to our members, FY 2024 will be a comparable year.

According to NASSCOM President Krishnan Ramanujam, the sector continues to lead the world in terms of AI capabilities with a workforce that is 36% digitally trained. AI/ML BDA is the second-largest talent pool. Thirdly, there is an increase in the number of experts working in IT. With over 54 lakh employees, the industry will continue to be a net employer. In the fiscal year 2023, this industry will add 290,000 new employments.

While the conflict continues, the mood throughout the world is a little bit better. It is stated that as the war’s impacts become more apparent, demand in Europe is beginning to ease and consumers are once again making purchases. Prices reflect this impact clearly. During December, prices have increased to $120-150 per tonne globally. Steel prices in India started climbing in late December. Earlier in November, the lowest level of prices was witnessed since March 2021. Crisil reports that steel prices are at a seven-month high. The Global Competitive Centres (GCC) are consistently growing in India, which is a good thing. India presently makes up about 40% of the GCCs globally, demonstrating how quickly the prospects are expanding. India added 65 new GCCs in the year, taking its total to over 1,570.