India Becomes World's Second-Largest Steel Producer

India has risen to become the world's second-largest producer of crude steel, trailing only China. From making less than 1% of global steel and ranking ninth in the year 2000, India now accounts for close to 9% of world steel output as of 2023. China alone still makes about half of the world's steel.

The growth has been steep. India's crude steel production climbed from 28 million tonnes in FY02 to 152 million tonnes in FY25. The main driver has been strong domestic demand, which grew at about 7.6% a year between 2002 and 2025. As a rapidly urbanising country with large infrastructure projects underway, India needs huge quantities of steel for construction, roads, railways and housing.

While India makes enough basic steel for its overall needs, it still imports speciality steel with special properties used in the automotive and advanced construction sectors, mostly from Japan and South Korea. Scaling up domestic speciality steel production is seen as key to closing this trade gap.

The industry is led by large private manufacturers. The top five firms, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL, Jindal Steel and Power, and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India, together hold 40-45% of domestic output. JSW Steel's share jumped from 1% in 2000 to about 11.6% in 2024, while the public-sector SAIL's share fell from 29% to 9%. All five own captive iron ore mines, which gives them a major cost advantage because iron ore carries a 40-50% mark-up in the open market.

For exam preparation, this signals India's industrial strength and the shift from public-sector to private-sector dominance in core industries after the liberalisation of the early 1990s.