India targets 600-million tons steel capacity by 2047, secretary says
India's new steel policy plans 600-million metric tons of steelmaking capacity by 2047 and is a roadmap for the next two decades, the country's steel secretary said on Tuesday, adding that it will be released to the public domain soon.
The policy, a draft document of which was reviewed by Reuters, also lays out plans to cut sector emissions and shore up access to iron ore and coking coal — key raw materials — to meet anticipated demand.
The federal Ministry of Steel did not immediately respond to a Reuters email seeking comments.
India was a net importer of finished steel in April-August, shipping in 3.5-million tons of the alloy, up 29.5% from a year ago. China accounted for 31.8% of this, making it the top exporter of finished steel to India in the period.
India's steelmaking capacity stood at 220-million tons as of fiscal 2026.
Raw material availability and exports are major challenges for the steel sector, particularly as countries raise trade barriers, the country's steel secretary Sandeep Poundrik told reporters on the sidelines of an event.
Indian steel prices are expected to rise further in the coming weeks as a post-monsoon pickup in infrastructure and automotive demand tightens the market while higher coking coal costs lift production costs of mills, executives and analysts told Reuters.
POLICY PLANS
The policy aims to cut the sector's average carbon emission intensity to around 1.54 tons of carbon dioxide per ton of crude steel by 2047 from the current 2.54 tons, in line with India's net zero emission goal for 2070, according to the draft document.
The steel ministry expects iron ore demand at 772-million tons and plans to secure access to high-grade reserves by pursuing foreign assets and joint ventures, the document said.
The ministry also expects coking coal demand to reach 214-million tons, the document said, with the government planning to diversify its sourcing via "strategic global outreach" and acquire overseas assets.
Article Enquiry
Email Article
Save Article
Feedback
To advertise email advertising@creamermedia.co.za or click here
Press Office
Announcements
What's On
Subscribe to improve your user experience...
Option 1 (equivalent of R125 a month):
Receive a weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine
(print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
Receive daily email newsletters
Access to full search results
Access archive of magazine back copies
Access to Projects in Progress
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
Option 2 (equivalent of R375 a month):
All benefits from Option 1
PLUS
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports, in PDF format, on various industrial and mining sectors
including Electricity; Water; Energy Transition; Hydrogen; Roads, Rail and Ports; Coal; Gold; Platinum; Battery Metals; etc.
Already a subscriber?
Forgotten your password?
Receive weekly copy of Creamer Media's Engineering News & Mining Weekly magazine (print copy for those in South Africa and e-magazine for those outside of South Africa)
➕
Recieve daily email newsletters
➕
Access to full search results
➕
Access archive of magazine back copies
➕
Access to Projects in Progress
➕
Access to ONE Research Report of your choice in PDF format
RESEARCH CHANNEL AFRICA
R4500 (equivalent of R375 a month)
SUBSCRIBEAll benefits from Option 1
➕
Access to Creamer Media's Research Channel Africa for ALL Research Reports on various industrial and mining sectors, in PDF format, including on:
Electricity
➕
Water
➕
Energy Transition
➕
Hydrogen
➕
Roads, Rail and Ports
➕
Coal
➕
Gold
➕
Platinum
➕
Battery Metals
➕
etc.
Receive all benefits from Option 1 or Option 2 delivered to numerous people at your company
➕
Multiple User names and Passwords for simultaneous log-ins
➕
Intranet integration access to all in your organisation


















