{"id":73297,"date":"2026-05-08T21:18:42","date_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:48:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/?p=73297"},"modified":"2026-05-08T21:19:25","modified_gmt":"2026-05-08T15:49:25","slug":"steel-sector-india","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-05-2026\/steel-sector-india","title":{"rendered":"India\u2019s Steel Sector Advances Towards Self-Reliance"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><strong>Syllabus: GS3\/ Economy<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Context<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India has retained its position as the <strong>world\u2019s second-largest steel producer <\/strong>since <strong>2018,<\/strong> reinforcing its position as a competitive and expanding global player.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>About Steel<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Steel is an <strong>alloy<\/strong> primarily composed of <strong>iron, carbon (&lt; 2%) and manganese (1%), <\/strong>along with small quantities of <strong>silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>There are different forms of steel and iron which are vital for the steel sector. Some of them are:\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Crude steel:<\/strong> First solid steel product formed upon solidification of liquid steel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Finished steel: <\/strong>Product obtained upon hot rolling\/forging of Semi-finished steel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Hot metal, pig iron and sponge iron:<\/strong> Key forms of iron that constitute important categories within the steel industry.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>India\u2019s Global Position in Steel Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s share in global crude steel production increased from <strong>5.2% in 2014 to 7.9% in 2024<\/strong>, reflecting its growing global competitiveness.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>According to the <strong>World Steel Association,<\/strong> India is also the world\u2019s <strong>second-largest consumer of finished steel.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Finished steel consumption<\/strong> in India increased from 77 million tonnes (MT) in 2014\u201315 to <strong>163.7 MT in 2025\u201326.<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Top destinations for India\u2019s finished steel exports <\/strong>in March 2026 were Vietnam, Belgium and Taiwan, comprising <strong>more than 50% <\/strong>of India\u2019s total finished steel exports.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>India aims to achieve<strong> 500 MT steel production <\/strong>capacity by <strong>2047<\/strong> as part of the long-term industrial growth strategy.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img data-dominant-color=\"c4d5df\" data-has-transparency=\"false\" style=\"--dominant-color: #c4d5df;\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"529\" height=\"364\" src=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-65.png\" alt=\"india\u2019s global position in steel sector\" class=\"not-transparent wp-image-73299\" srcset=\"https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-65.png 529w, https:\/\/wp-images.nextias.com\/cdn-cgi\/image\/format=auto\/ca\/uploads\/2026\/05\/image-65-300x206.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 529px) 100vw, 529px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Importance of the Steel Sector for India<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Backbone of Industrial Development:<\/strong> Steel supports core sectors such as infrastructure, housing, transportation, power, capital goods, and heavy industries, while contributing roughly<strong> 2% to India&#8217;s GDP.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Employment Growth:<\/strong> The steel industry generates large-scale direct and indirect employment across mining, manufacturing, logistics, and ancillary industries.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>National Security Importance:<\/strong> A strong domestic steel base is crucial for defence manufacturing, shipbuilding, railways, and strategic infrastructure.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Government Reforms Supporting Steel Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>National Steel Policy:<\/strong> The <strong>National Steel Policy 2017 <\/strong>envisions expanding crude steel capacity to<strong> 300 MTPA and production to 255 MTPA by 2030\u201331.<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Additionally, raising per-capita finished steel consumption to <strong>158 kg<\/strong> from the current 61 kg.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Specialty Steel: <\/strong>It aims to strengthen India&#8217;s manufacturing capabilities by offering <strong>financial incentives to eligible companies<\/strong> based on their incremental sales.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The scheme offers incentives for <strong>5 years (FY 2024-25 &#8211; FY 2030-31)<\/strong> to companies that meet specified investment and production targets.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Specialty steel<\/strong> is a value-added steel product manufactured through advanced processing techniques to provide superior strength, durability, corrosion resistance, and performance.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Identification of Steel Zones: <\/strong>The Government is fast-tracking key logistics and infrastructure projects across <strong>12 major steel zones.\u00a0<\/strong>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Priority rail, road and port expansions<\/strong> are underway to ease bottlenecks and develop world-class multimodal connectivity supporting the sector\u2019s growth.\u00a0<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>The Steel Scrap Recycling Policy (2019) <\/strong>has been notified to boost the availability of domestic scrap.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In April 2025, the Government imposed a 12% safeguard duty<\/strong> on select non-alloy and alloy steel flat products. This protects domestic manufacturers from import surges and maintains fair market competition.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Decarbonisation of India\u2019s Steel Sector<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India is pursuing decarbonisation of the steel sector to achieve its <strong>net-zero emission intensity target by 2070<\/strong> through energy efficiency, renewable energy adoption, green hydrogen, scrap recycling, and <strong>Carbon Capture, Utilisation and Storage (CCUS) technologies.<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>In 2024<\/strong>, India became the <strong>first country to introduce an official Green Steel Taxonomy<\/strong>, defining <strong>green steel<\/strong> as steel produced with emission intensity below <strong>2.2 tonnes of CO\u2082 equivalent per tonne<\/strong> of finished steel.\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>By March 2026, 89 steel units<\/strong> had received green steel certification covering 12.34 MT production.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Way Ahead<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>India\u2019s steel sector has emerged as a major driver of industrial growth, infrastructure development, and economic self-reliance.\u00a0<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>With rising production capacity, expanding exports, focus on specialty steel, and commitment towards green steel and decarbonisation, the sector is poised to play a crucial role in India\u2019s vision of becoming a developed and sustainable economy by 2047.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Source: <\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pib.gov.in\/PressNoteDetails.aspx?id=158442&amp;NoteId=158442&amp;ModuleId=3&amp;reg=3&amp;lang=2\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>AIR<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p><strong> Context\u00a0 <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> India has retained its position as the world\u2019s second-largest steel producer since 2018, reinforcing its position as a competitive and expanding global player.\u00a0\u00a0 <\/li>\n<p><\/p>\n<p><strong> About Steel <\/strong><\/p>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Steel is an alloy primarily composed of iron, carbon (< 2%) and manganese (1%), along with small quantities of silicon, phosphorus, sulphur and oxygen. <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> There are different forms of steel and iron which are vital for the steel sector. Some of them are: <\/li>\n<li class=\"ms-5\"> Crude steel: First solid steel product formed upon solidification of liquid steel. <\/li>\n<p><a href=\" https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/current-affairs\/08-05-2026\/steel-sector-india \" class=\"btn btn-primary btn-sm float-end\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":15,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[21],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-73297","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-affairs"],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73297","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/15"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=73297"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73297\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":73302,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/73297\/revisions\/73302"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=73297"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=73297"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nextias.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=73297"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}