India’s infrastructure-linked steel demand is set to accelerate, fueled by strong policy support and raw-material security initiatives. The National Steel Policy (NSP) aims to expand the country’s production capacity to 300 million tonnes (Mt) by 2030–31, while increasing output to 255 Mt to meet rising domestic and strategic needs.
Complementing the NSP, the government is actively preparing for PLI Scheme 2.0, targeting critical raw-material inputs like coking coal, scrap, and refractories. This move is intended to strengthen supply chains and reduce import dependency—especially important given that India imports over 85 per cent of its coking coal.
Union Minister of State Faggan Singh Kulaste has confirmed that PLI 2.0 is under discussion, with a strategic focus on ensuring adequate raw-material supplies and promoting scrap-based production. The scheme aligns with the NSP’s ambition of doubling capacity and boosting specialty steel output.
Prime Minister Modi has also underscored the importance of securing raw materials, emphasizing alternatives like DRI processes, coal gasification, and exploration of overseas assets. His address at India Steel 2025 highlighted the need for “zero imports” in infrastructure steel and pledged to pursue net exports in the long term.
These policy moves come amid a surge in infrastructure demand-driven by national initiatives like Make in India, PM Gati-Shakti, and the National Infrastructure Pipeline. As public projects proliferate across transport, energy, housing, and urban renewal, the emphasis on domestically sourced, high-grade steel underscores the material’s central role in India’s growth trajectory.
In summary, the convergence of the NSP, PLI 2.0, and enhanced raw-material strategies is creating positive momentum for India’s steel-infrastructure landscape. With capacity expansion, resource security, and quality improvements underway, steel is poised to underpin the nation’s ambitious development agenda through 2030 and beyond.
