India increased its imports of rolled steel by 36.6% y/y in April-February

Imports of finished steel decreased by 37.4% y/y during the period

India increased its imports of rolled steel by 36.6% year-on-year to 6.02 million tons in the first 11 months of the 2025/2026 fiscal year (April 2025-February 2026), Reuters reports, citing preliminary government data.

Rolled steel imports to the country fell by 37.4% y/y – to 5.6 million tons during the same period.

Rolled steel consumption in India grew by 7.2% y/y – to 147.7 million tons in the first 11 months of the current fiscal year.

At the same time, Indian steelmakers increased steel production by 11.2% y/y – to 153.61 million tons in April 2025-February 2026.

It should be noted that India reached its target steel production capacity of 205 million tons per year in the 2024/2025 fiscal year. According to a report by MP Financial Advisory Services LLP, the country is steadily moving towards its strategic goal of 300 million tons per year by the 2030/2031 fiscal year. Between 2016 and 2024, the average annual growth in steel production in India was about 5%.

As reported by GMK Center, India is considering the phased introduction of a mandate for green steel in public procurement. According to the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), this could unlock up to 16 million tons of certified green steel supplies from manufacturers by the 2029/2030 financial year if a 26% commitment to low-carbon steel products in such transactions is introduced.