The Indian Government has drawn up a new national strategy for the development of the steel industry, which envisages expanding the country’s production capacity to 600 million tonnes per year by 2047. The document is due to be officially published shortly. This was reported by Reuters, citing Sandip Poundrik, Secretary of the Indian Ministry of Steel.
At the end of the 2025/2026 financial year, India’s steel production capacity stood at 220 million tonnes. The new strategy aims to meet growing domestic demand, mitigate the risks associated with decarbonisation and ensure the sector’s independence in terms of raw materials.
The project aims to reduce average carbon intensity from the current 2.54 tonnes of CO? to 1.54 tonnes per tonne of steel by 2047, as part of India’s drive to achieve nationwide carbon neutrality by 2070.
Domestic demand for iron ore is expected to rise to 772 million tonnes by 2047, whilst demand for coking coal is expected to reach 214 million tonnes. The government plans to acquire foreign mining assets and set up joint ventures abroad to secure supplies of high-quality raw materials.
Between April and August, India remained a net importer of rolled steel: the country imported 3.5 million tonnes (a 29.5% increase compared with last year). China was the main supplier, accounting for 31.8% of the total.
According to Sandeep Poundrik, the main barriers are the availability of raw materials and the tightening of trade restrictions worldwide. At the same time, analysts are forecasting a further rise in steel prices in India due to a recovery in activity in the construction and automotive sectors following the monsoon season, and the rising cost of coking coal.
As reported by GMK Center, in the first quarter of the 2027 financial year (April–June), the Indian regulatory authorities approved new steel production projects with a combined capacity of 11.6 million tonnes of steel per year, which have received environmental clearance (EC) and a construction permit (CTE).
