India’s steel production will exceed 300 million tons by 2030 – forecast

Current demand for steel in the country remains strong thanks to infrastructure support from the government

India’s domestic steel production is likely to exceed 300 million tonnes by 2030. This was stated by Minister of Steel Industry Nagaendra Nat Sinha while addressing members of the Bharat Chamber of Commerce (BCC), The Economic Times reported.

The current demand for steel, according to the minister, is high due to the support of infrastructure by the government, and with a constant focus on it, both the public and private sectors will remain so.

The relevant department also does not provide for any obstacles to increasing capacity due to decarbonization efforts in the steel industry. In addition, the ministry will soon publish a draft roadmap to get feedback from the public on reducing carbon emissions in metallurgy.

The roadmap, among other things, focuses on increasing the use of hydrogen in the steel industry and capturing carbon. The government’s short-term goal is to reduce the industry’s carbon emissions by about 20%. The current average emission intensity is 2.5 tonnes per tonne of steel produced.

According to the BCC, in January-April 2024, steel production in the country amounted to 49.5 million tons, which is 8.5% more than in the same period last year. The Minister noted that some manufacturers do not provide accurate data on volumes and sales, so there are gaps in this. He urged companies to provide clear reporting to help shape public policy.

Steel producers complain of several problems, such as iron ore shortages and cheap steel imports. When asked about the concern of the industry regarding imports, Sinha noted that the latter in quantitative terms is only 5% of consumption. At the same time, complaints about hot-rolled roll from Vietnam were dealt with by the Directorate General for Trade Remedies under the Ministry of Trade and Industry.

As GMK Center reported earlier, by the end of the fiscal year 2024/2025 (ends in March 2025), steel production in India, according to the BigMint forecast, will grow by almost 6% y/y, to 152 million tons. The main contribution to the projected volumes of steel smelting in the current financial year should be made by metallurgical plants operating blast furnaces. Their expansion plans were developed long before the issue of decarbonization arose at the global level.