Secretary, Ministry of Steel Sandeep Poundrik speaks during the Manufacturing Confluence 2026 organised by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in New Delhi

India will soon unveil a new National Steel Policy targeting 600 million tonnes (MT) of steelmaking capacity by 2047, replacing the 2017 policy and setting out a roadmap for the sector over the next two decades, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said on Tuesday.

“We are going to bring the National Steel Policy for public consultation very soon. This national steel policy is being formulated with a vision to bring India to the Viksit Bharat target in 2047,” Poundrik said.

Policy focus

The Steel Secretary said the policy would be circulated in the public domain within the week for consultation and comments from stakeholders.

The policy will focus not only on capacity expansion but also on decarbonisation, technology, speciality steel and reducing dependence on imports. India has already reached around 220 MT of steelmaking capacity, well ahead of the 300 MT target set under the 2017 policy for 2030-31.

The new target comes as steel demand continues to rise. Domestic steel consumption reached about 164 MT in 2025-26, and India has become the world’s second-largest crude steel producer. The government is also seeking to protect domestic producers from cheap and substandard imports amid a sharp increase in steel imports this fiscal year.

The Steel Secretary specifically mentioned that the new policy provides measures to “discourage cheap, sub-standard” imports, a key concern with the domestic industry, including safeguard duties, anti-dumping duties, etc. It also envisages measures to make the Indian steel industry, especially the small steel players, competitive in terms of technology and price.

Green steel

The policy is expected to give greater emphasis to green steel as India seeks to expand production while meeting its 2070 net-zero goal. Earlier research has highlighted the difficulty of decarbonising India’s coal-intensive steel sector and the need for investment in technologies such as hydrogen-based direct reduced iron, greater scrap use and renewable energy.

The scale-up will also require securing raw materials, particularly iron ore and coking coal, while improving technology and productivity across the industry. The government has separately been working on a ₹5,000-crore scheme to support steelmakers, particularly smaller secondary producers, in reducing emissions.

Published on September 29, 2026