A draft National Steel Policy 2047 sets a production target of 604 million tonnes of crude steel by 2047, with stated aims of sharpening the industry's competitive edge and reducing dependence on imported material. The policy projects that domestic consumption of finished steel will reach 505 million tonnes, with per capita use climbing to 302 kg and outbound steel shipments reaching 45 million tonnes, all by that target year.

Between 65 and 70 cents of every dollar spent producing steel goes toward purchasing raw materials. Iron ore production covers the bulk of domestic needs, yet around 92 per cent of the coking coal used by Indian steelmakers is sourced from abroad.

Five levers are identified to reduce reliance on imported supplies: expanding mines and washeries domestically, acquiring assets abroad, locking in long-term procurement agreements, and deploying artificial intelligence to fine-tune how coal blends are composed. Manganese, limestone, and other raw materials on which steelmaking depends are included within the scope of policy planning, with an eye toward securing those resources over the long term.

Spanning roughly 2,550 units and accounting for close to 47 per cent of the country's crude steel output capacity, the secondary steel sector is set to benefit from planned measures covering raw material availability, technological upgrading, workforce training, and safety standards. A policy statement notes that reducing carbon emissions stands among the framework's central commitments.

India's steel industry accounts for roughly 10 to 12 per cent of the country's carbon dioxide output, with each tonne of crude steel produced generating an average of 2.54 tonnes of CO2 — a rate that sits above the worldwide benchmark of 1.92 tCO2/tcs, according to a government statement. Under the NSP Vision 2047 framework, a staged pathway toward Net Zero by 2070 rests on four pillars: lifting energy efficiency, expanding renewable electricity supply, drawing more heavily on recycled scrap, and introducing hydrogen into the fuel mix.

Among its provisions, the framework targets higher-grade steel varieties — stainless and speciality grades among them — with the aim of cutting reliance on overseas raw materials and foreign technology. Additional planks put forward include diversifying raw material sources, nurturing a home-grown scrap recycling ecosystem, clustering downstream manufacturers together, building out indigenous technology, pooling demand across buyers, and establishing dedicated centres of excellence.

Updated Indian Standards and new conformity assessment procedures are set to raise the bar for steel quality across the industry. Digital transformation features among the priorities organisations are actively working to address, with investments in digital infrastructure, shared data standards, and the uptake of Industry 4.0 practices identified as central to the agenda, alongside trusted artificial intelligence and autonomous production systems.

AI-assisted monitoring of incoming shipments, alongside other trade remedial tools, is identified as underpinning the administration's push to keep below-standard steel products out of the domestic market. Premium steel grades are set to receive a push toward greater export volumes.

A policy framework for the steel sector unveiled by the government in 2017 set out targets including a domestic production capacity of 300 million tonnes by 2030, per capita consumption reaching 160 kg, and secured access to the raw materials needed to sustain that output. Crude steel output, which stood at roughly 89 million tonnes in 2014-15, climbed to 170 million tonnes by 2025-26, while finished steel demand over that same span grew from 77 million tonnes to 164 million tonnes.

Poundrik, who holds the steel secretary portfolio, indicated that the 2017 policy had reached a point where fresh examination was warranted, pointing to developments since that year — among them the growing role of artificial intelligence, machine learning, and technical upgrades — as areas demanding closer attention. He noted that growing output capacity and a broader domestic appetite for steel had lifted the country's profile within the global industry.