Domestic Demand Drives India’s Steel Sector in H1 FY 2026–27

Ministry of Steel Domestic Demand Drives India’s Steel Sector in H1 FY 2026–27

Posted On: 23 OCT 2026 3:32PM by PIB Delhi

1. Steel Production & Prices 1a. Production Overview (in Mt) Production Sep Sep YoY % Apr-Sep Apr-Sep CPLY % 2026 2025 2026 2025 Crude Steel 13.9 13.7 1.9 85.1 82.7 2.9 Hot Metal 8.1 7.9 1.7 48.4 47.2 2.7 Finished Steel 13.6 13.2 3.2 82.0 78.8 4.1 1b. Producer wise Production (Apr-Sep 2026) (in Mt) Producer Annual Crude Steel Hot Metal Finished Crude Production Production Steel Steel Production Capacity Top 7 117.4 47.8 44.9 44.3Remaining producers 105.6 37.3 3.5 37.8 TOTAL 223.0 85.1 48.4 82.0 Public Sector Share (%) 13.9 15.5 29.3 13.5 Top 7 includes SAIL, RINL, NSL, TSL Group, AM/NS, JSL(JSPL), JSW Group Crude Steel Production Distribution for Apr-Sep 2026 1c. Steel Prices (in ₹/tonne)Product Aug-26 Sep-26 Oct-26 MoM % YoY % TMT (10 mm) ₹ 58,002 ₹ 65,298 ₹ 2.1% 26.0% 66,645 HR Coil (2 mm) ₹ 70,448 ₹ 76,085 ₹ 2.0% 31.6% 77,620 CR Coil (0.63 mm) ₹ 76,462 ₹ 84,972 ₹ 2.4% 33.3% 87,010 GP Sheet (0.63 mm) ₹ 86,668 ₹ 94,148 ₹ 1.3% 33.6% 95,365

Note: Prices are inclusive of GST and shown in ₹/tonne, based on average prices from four metro cities—Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.

1d. Alloy Steel — Production, Import, Export & Consumption (in ‘000t) Indicator Sep Sep YoY % Apr-Sep Apr-Sep CPLY % 2026 2025 2026 2025 Production 1027.2 749.3 37.1% 5834.2 4419.8 32.0% Import 87.9 79.4 10.7% 601.8 566.5 6.2% Export 17.4 11.0 58.2% 196.1 74.3 163.8% Consumption 1159.8 792.0 46.4% 6304.7 4908.1 28.5% 1e. Stainless Steel — Production, Import, Export & Consumption (in ‘000t)Indicator Sep Sep YoY % Apr-Sep Apr-Sep CPLY % 2026 2025 2026 2025 Production 365.8 374.5 -2.3% 2127.7 2204.7 -3.5% Import 162.8 56.0 191.0% 805.7 376.2 114.2% Export 47.8 40.0 19.5% 261.5 322.6 -18.9% Consumption 465.0 398.0 16.8% 2637.9 2246.1 17.4%

2. Demand (in Mt) Indicator Sep Sep YoY % Apr- Apr- CPLY % 2026 2025 Sep Sep 2026 2025 Finished Steel 14.4 13.3 7.7% 85.0 79.0 7.6% Consumption

3. Trade Dynamics 3a. Finished Steel — Import & Export Indicator Unit Sep-26 Sep- YoY % Apr-Sep Apr- CPLY 25 2026 Sep % 2025 Imports Mt 0.65 0.65 0.4% 4.14 3.34 23.8% Rs Crore 7496.2 5032.9 48.9% 43690.1 31205.4 40.0% Exports Mt 0.56 0.58 -3.8% 3.55 2.81 26.2% Rs Crore 4617.1 4020.4 14.8% 28263.7 21931.5 28.9% Net Trade India was net importer of finished steel in terms of Position quantity for the period of Apr-Sep 20263b. Top 5 Countries — Finished Steel Import & Export (Apr-Sep 2026) Rank Import Vol. Share Rank Export Vol. Share Country (Mt) % Country (Mt) % 1 China 1.32 31.8 1 UAE 0.50 14.2 2 Korea 1.29 31.1 2 Vietnam 0.48 13.4 3 Japan 0.56 13.5 3 Italy 0.32 9.0 4 Indonesia 0.28 6.7 4 Belgium 0.28 7.8 5 Vietnam 0.18 4.4 5 Nepal 0.24 6.9 3c. Top Categories — Finished Steel Import & Export (Apr-Sep 2026) Rank Import Vol. Share Rank Export Vol. Share Category (Mt) % Category (Mt) % 1 HR 1.47 35.6 1 HR 1.38 38.9 Coil/Strip Coil/Strip 2 CR 0.78 18.9 2 Pipes 0.50 14.0 Coil/Sheets 3 GP/GC 0.67 16.2 3 Bars & Rods 0.47 13.3 Sheets/Coil 4 Plates 0.34 8.2 4 GP/GC 0.45 12.7 Sheets/Coil 5 Elect. 0.30 7.2 5 Plates 0.31 8.8 Sheets4. Raw Materials 4a. Domestic Raw Material Prices (₹/tonne) Commodity Sep 2026 Oct 2026 MoM Change NMDC Iron Ore Baila Lump ₹ 5,400 ₹ 5,400 0% (65.5%, 10-40 mm) NMDC Iron Ore Baila Fines ₹ 4,500 ₹ 4,500 0% (64%, 0-10 mm) MOIL Manganese Ore Lump ₹ 17,603 ₹ 18,483 5.0% (Mn 37%, Fe 7.5%) Scrap — HMS II ₹ 43,810 ₹ 42,258 -3.5%5. Key Indices Index Jul 2026 Aug 2026 Sep MoM YoY 2026 Change Change Nifty Metal Index (avg.) 12,556.4 13,181.8 13,053.7 -1.0% 32.7% PMI Manufacturing Index 53.5 52.8 55.1 4.4% -4.5% Baltic Dry Index (avg.) 2,769.9 2,951.1 3,407.7 15.5% 60.4%

Source: NSE, S&P Global, Trading Economics

6. Policy Initiatives/Industry Initiatives Ministry of Steel has prepared the draft National Steel Policy – Vision 2047, which targets crude steel capacity of 604 MT, per capita consumption of 302 kg and exports of 45 MT by 2047, along with a reduction in emission intensity from 2.54 to about 1.54 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO₂) per tonne of crude steel (tCO₂/tcs).

SAIL signed MoUs with Odisha, Chhattisgarh and West Bengal under the PM-SETU scheme to serve as Anchor Industry Partner for upgrading ITI clusters, with a focus on industry- oriented skills, women’s participation and emerging technologies.

NMDC and SAIL have incorporated subsidiaries at IFSC, GIFT City: NMDC Global IFSC Limited as an investment platform for overseas mineral projects, particularly critical and strategic minerals, and SAIL Global IFSC Limited as a group treasury centre for cash and currency management.

MOIL recorded its highest-ever H1 manganese ore production of 0.96 Mt in April– September 2026, surpassing its previous H1 record of 0.943 Mt. The milestone strengthens the domestic availability of manganese ore, a key raw material for the steel industry. MOIL Limited and Madhya Pradesh State Mining Corporation Limited (MPSMCL) have set up a joint venture, MOIL MPSMCL Mining Limited, for the exploration and mining of manganese ore in Madhya Pradesh.7. International Co-operation Ministry of Steel officials and representatives from NMDC, SAIL, MOIL and MECON participated in the India Pavilion at Russian Energy Week 2026 in Moscow from 14 to 16 October, where India was the partner country. The delegation held discussions with officials of the Russian Ministry of Energy on bilateral cooperation, coal security and strategic investment opportunities, and participated in an India–Russia Energy Dialogue roundtable.

On the sidelines, NMDC explored cooperation with Russian companies in critical minerals and mining technologies, and invited Russian equipment manufacturers to establish manufacturing facilities in India. MOIL held discussions with Russian technology companies on AI-driven digitalisation of mining operations, while MECON signed an MoU with Zyfra LLC for digitalisation and automation solutions in the mining, metals and energy sectors. MECON also explored cooperation on steel mill rolls and on sintering and pelletisation technologies for projects in India.

8. Green Steel Initiatives Under the Ministry of Steel’s Green Steel Initiative, 104 distinct steel producers have been issued Green Steel Certificates across the lists issued up to October 2026. The certification covers products including TMT bars, HR/CR coils, plates, wire rods, pipes and other steel products, with a large majority of certified products receiving 5-star ratings, reflecting the growing adoption of lower-emission steelmaking practices across India’s steel industry.

NMDC signed a Gas Sales Agreement with GAIL Gas Limited for the supply of re-gasified liquefied natural gas (RLNG) to its pellet plant at Nagarnar, Jagdalpur. The switch from furnace oil is expected to ensure clean and reliable energy supply, reduce emissions and improve operational efficiency.

Source: Provisional JPC data for Sep 2026. Mt = Million Tonnes; Mtpa = Million Tonnes Per Annum; MoM = Month-on-Month; YoY = Year-on-Year; CPLY = Corresponding Period Last Year *** AG (Release ID: 2327351)Visitor Counter : 315

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