Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Monday urged domestic steel manufacturers to accelerate decarbonisation, expand production capacity and increase the manufacture of specialty and high-grade steel to reduce dependence on imports, while highlighting India's growing importance in the global steel industry.
Addressing the World Steel Association General Assembly, Sitharaman said India's steel sector was following a growth trajectory different from that of several major global markets, where excess production capacity and weak demand continued to pose challenges.
She said India's expanding infrastructure, industrial development and sustained public investment had created strong domestic demand, providing manufacturers with opportunities to increase capacity and modernise production facilities.
"While much of the global industry is grappling with excess capacity and weak demand, India is experiencing a different trajectory, driven by domestic consumption and sustained investment," Sitharaman said.
๐๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ฐ ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐บ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ฑ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐ฒ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต
The finance minister said India's steel consumption had exceeded domestic production for two consecutive years, reflecting the strength of demand and the potential for further expansion.
"For two successive years, consumption has exceeded production, underscoring the strength of the domestic market and the potential for further growth remains substantial," she said.
India's per capita steel consumption stands at approximately 109 kg, significantly below the global average of 209 kg, indicating considerable scope for increased use as infrastructure, manufacturing and urbanisation expand.
Sitharaman said government expenditure on infrastructure and capital formation had been a major contributor to this demand.
Union government capital expenditure has increased sixfold, from approximately Rs 2 lakh crore in 2014-15 to Rs 12.2 lakh crore in 2026-27, she said.
With construction and infrastructure accounting for nearly two-thirds of India's steel consumption, sustained public investment translates directly into demand for the metal.
The finance minister said this investment provided steel producers with a dependable domestic market and the confidence to undertake long-term capacity expansion and technological modernisation.
๐ฃ๐๐๐ต ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฝ๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐๐ ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น
Sitharaman emphasised the need to expand domestic manufacturing of specialty and high-grade steel, particularly for strategic industries that depend on specialised materials.
She referred to the government's Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel, which has an approved outlay of Rs 6,300 crore.
The scheme seeks to encourage investment in domestic manufacturing, promote technological upgrades and strengthen India's ability to produce advanced steel products required by its economy.
According to the finance minister, increasing domestic production of these grades would help reduce reliance on imports while supporting industries requiring high-performance steel.
She said the industry must simultaneously expand overall production capacity and improve the efficiency and technological sophistication of its manufacturing processes.
๐๐ฒ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ฏ๐ผ๐ป๐ถ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ฎ ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ถ๐๐
Outlining five priorities for the industry, Sitharaman called for reducing the energy and carbon intensity of steel production while ensuring that capacity expansion remained aligned with India's development requirements.
She said the transition towards cleaner steelmaking must proceed at a pace consistent with the country's economic priorities and industrial growth.
The finance minister stressed the importance of credible emissions measurement, development of appropriate technologies and equitable sharing of the costs associated with decarbonisation.
She said the industry faced the dual responsibility of meeting rising domestic demand and lowering the environmental impact of production.
For India, the challenge was to build sufficient capacity to support development while progressively reducing the carbon intensity of steel manufacturing.
Sitharaman also referred to India's historical achievements in metallurgy, saying the country should aspire to regain its earlier leadership in specialty metal production through technological advancement and innovation.
๐๐ฎ๐น๐น ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐บ๐๐น๐๐ถ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฑ๐ฒ ๐ฟ๐๐น๐ฒ๐
Addressing challenges in international steel trade, the finance minister cautioned that successive unilateral tariffs were unlikely to provide a lasting solution to global excess capacity.
She said such measures often redirected surplus steel from one market to another rather than addressing the structural factors responsible for overproduction.
A durable solution, she argued, required multilateral disciplines governing subsidies that sustained economically unviable production, supported by greater transparency in industry data.
Sitharaman emphasised that international trade arrangements should address the underlying causes of excess capacity rather than relying exclusively on unilateral restrictions.
Her remarks came against the backdrop of persistent concerns in the global steel industry over production imbalances, trade barriers and competitive pressures.
๐๐ป๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฎ ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ ๐ด๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐๐ต ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐๐ป๐ถ๐๐ถ๐ฒ๐
The finance minister said India offered members of the World Steel Association access to a rapidly expanding major steel market, supported by sustained public investment and an emerging green steel framework.
She noted that India's rising consumption, infrastructure requirements and industrial expansion were expected to make it an increasingly important source of incremental global steel demand.
The combination of domestic market growth, investment in manufacturing and efforts to develop cleaner technologies presented opportunities for international cooperation, she said.
๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐ฆ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐น ๐๐๐๐ผ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ผ๐ณ๐ณ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฝ๐ผ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ
Sitharaman urged the World Steel Association to consider establishing an office in India, citing the country's emergence as a major contributor to growth in global steel demand.
She recalled that the association had opened its Beijing office in 2006, when China was driving a substantial share of the expansion in global steel consumption.
With India now emerging as an important centre of incremental demand, she said a stronger institutional presence would bring the association closer to a market undergoing significant technological and industrial development.
An India office would also facilitate engagement with other growing steel markets in South Asia, Southeast Asia, West Asia and Africa, regions with which India maintains longstanding commercial relationships.
Sitharaman said such a presence could strengthen cooperation on technological development, industry modernisation and the transition towards cleaner steel production, while recognising India's expanding role in the global steel economy.