Demand for steel in India remains on a growth trajectory

Demand for steel in India will remain on a steady growth trajectory. This was announced by Girishkumar Kadam, Senior Vice President and Head of Corporate Ratings at ICRA, during the Mjunction conference in Mumbai, according to Kallanish.

According to him, the momentum will be supported by the country’s accelerating urbanization, stable government capital expenditure, and favorable demographics. At the same time, the country’s market is sensitive to changes in economic conditions.

Kadham expects steel consumption in India to grow by 7-8% in FY2025/2026 due to continued construction activity and steady expansion of production. Construction and infrastructure still account for nearly 60% of total demand, with the automotive and engineering sectors also accounting for a significant share.

ICRA’s senior vice president expects steel capacity utilization in India to improve this year, with part of the additional supply being absorbed by growing demand.

Conference participants also noted that scrap is rapidly becoming a decisive factor in India’s ambitions for green steel, Construction World writes. Ensuring sufficient quantities remains a key challenge.

Sandeep Kumar, Vice President of Raw Materials at Tata Steel, also stressed that Indian steelmakers are increasingly paying a high price for their dependence on imported coking coal, while aggressive auctions for iron ore mines are leading to higher domestic ore prices.

India reached its target steel production capacity of 205 million tons per year in the 2024/2025 financial year, according to a report by MP Financial Advisory Services. The country is confidently moving towards its strategic goal of 300 million tons per year by the 2030/2031 financial year.