India's crude steel production grew 9.2% year-on-year to reach 148 million tonnes in FY26, making India the world's second-largest steel producer and closing the gap with China, which produced 990 million tonnes. The strong production growth was driven by record orders from the government's infrastructure programmes including the PM Gati Shakti National Master Plan, Smart Cities Mission and Dedicated Freight Corridor construction projects.
JSW Steel led the production growth with 29.4 million tonnes in FY26, up 13% year-on-year, as its Dolvi and Vijayanagar plants ran at high utilisation rates. Tata Steel India's production grew 8% to 22.8 million tonnes while SAIL maintained output at 20.2 million tonnes. The private sector now accounts for 58% of total Indian steel production, reflecting the growing competitive strength of India's private steel majors.
Despite strong demand, steel companies faced margin pressure from elevated coking coal import costs and competition from cheap Chinese imports. The government imposed a 7.5% safeguard duty on certain steel products from China and Vietnam in March 2026 to provide relief to domestic producers. Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy said the government is committed to supporting the steel industry's target of reaching 300 million tonnes annual capacity by 2030 through policy support and infrastructure investment.
