As reported by Reuters, citing a draft government note from March, India aims to increase its steel smelting capacity to 400 million tons by the 2035/2036 fiscal year. This document, which will form the basis of the proposed National Steel Policy 2025, also anticipates significant capital investments, export expansion, and a reduction in the industry's carbon intensity. For the global market, this signifies India's strengthening role as a key growth hub in the steel sector.
Production Volumes, Investment, and Export Targets
According to the document, achieving the 400 million ton target will require investments of approximately 17 trillion rupees, or $183.41 billion. This expansion is expected to support employment in a sector that currently employs about 2.8 million people. A separate focus is placed on more than doubling steel exports to 20 million tons by the 2035/2036 fiscal year.
Additional production targets are supported by current sector performance. According to India's Ministry of Steel, as cited by SteelOrbis, steel production in the country for the 2025/2026 fiscal year is estimated at 168.4 million tons, a 10.7% year-on-year increase. Domestic consumption reached 164 million tons, while total available capacity stood at around 220 million tons, indicating significant room for further scaling.
Meanwhile, India is already showing activity in foreign trade. Exports of finished rolled products rose by 35.9% to 6.6 million tons by the end of the fiscal year, while imports decreased by 31.7%. Such dynamics indicate a consistent strengthening of Indian manufacturers' competitive positions in international markets.
Market Impact and Solutions from winox.ua
For the global metal market, the Indian strategy means a simultaneous increase in steel supply, export competition, and demand for raw materials and technologies. The iron ore and coking coal factor is particularly important, as the country plans to reduce its dependence on coking coal imports to 80% from approximately 90% today. However, market estimates suggest India may increase iron ore imports due to a shortage of high-quality raw materials. For Ukrainian and European companies, this necessitates closely monitoring price trends, demand structures, and shifts in trade flows.
Under these conditions, supply stability and procurement predictability become crucial for industrial consumers. As a supplier of rolled metal, stainless steel, and non-ferrous metals, winox.ua helps businesses mitigate risks through reliable deliveries and a balanced approach to inventory. Amid intensifying global competition and potential price fluctuations, this becomes a vital advantage for manufacturing and construction enterprises.
Furthermore, India's growing role may impact niche segments of flat-rolled products, structural steels, and specialty metal grades. For B2B clients, this means procurement decisions should be based not only on price but also on supply chain reliability, product quality, and compliance with technical requirements. Consequently, the market increasingly values suppliers like winox.ua, who can offer verified product origins and flexibility in handling industrial orders.
Industry Decarbonization as a Competitive Factor
The new policy also envisions reducing steel plant emissions to 2 tons of CO2 per ton of rolled steel by the 2035/2036 fiscal year. Currently, this figure in India is around 2.65 tons of CO2 per ton, which is approximately 32% higher than the global average. Given that metallurgy accounts for 10-12% of the country's total emissions, the environmental component of the policy is just as significant as the production targets.
Proposed tools include incentivizing gas-based steel production, wider use of scrap metal, and constant encouragement for emission reductions. At the same time, infrastructure constraints remain significant: only 21% of blast furnace capacity and 5% of DRI (Direct Reduced Iron) capacity have access to the gas pipeline network. This means that realizing India's plans will depend not only on investments in the mills themselves but also on the development of energy and logistics infrastructure.
For the international steel market, decarbonization in India signals a gradual tightening of requirements for production efficiency and quality. This increases the importance of certified metal products and transparent supply standards. In this context, winox.ua focuses on working with verified manufacturers and provides rolled metal that meets the modern requirements of industrial consumers.