India’s JSW Steel Limited will invest an estimated $20 billion over the next seven years banking on the country’s continued focus on expanding infrastructure and manufacturing that will drive steel demand to over 300 million mt per year, company managing director Jayant Acharya said in a statement on Thursday, June 4.
“The company’s expansion plans, translating to roughly $3 billion in annual investments, are based on the view that India has entered a “nation-building” phase driven by infrastructure creation, urbanization, manufacturing growth and rising domestic consumption,” he said.
“One of the strongest indicators supporting that conviction is India’s rising per-capita steel consumption, which has now crossed 115 kg,” he added.
“In the last five years, steel growth versus GDP growth has moved to around 1.5 times, compared with about one time or lower earlier,” he said.
He said that JSW Steel Limited’s expansion strategy is not limited to adding raw steel capacity as India would also need domestic capabilities in specialized categories such as electrical steel, packaging steel and advanced high-strength steel used in the automotive, manufacturing and energy-transition sectors.
The localization push has become increasingly important as automakers and manufacturers seek to reduce import dependence and build more resilient domestic supply chains.
Advanced high-strength steel is becoming critical for vehicle lightweighting and energy-efficiency requirements, including in electric vehicles, Acharya said.
