India's Steel Sector Posts Steady Growth in H1 FY 2026–27

1. Steel Production & Prices
1a. Production Overview (in Mt)
Production
Sep 2026
Sep 2025
YoY %
Apr-Sep
2026
Apr-Sep
2025
CPLY %
Crude Steel
14.1
13.7
3.4
85.1
82.7
2.9
Hot Metal
7.9
7.9
0.2
48.3
47.2
2.5
Finished Steel
13.5
13.2
1.9
81.8
78.8
3.7

1b. Producer wise Production (Apr-Sep 2026) (in Mt)
Producer
Annual Crude
Steel
Capacity
Crude Steel
Production
Hot Metal
Production
Finished
Steel
Production
Top 7
117.4
47.7
44.8
44.1
Remaining producers
105.4
37.4
3.5
37.7
TOTAL
222.9
85.1
48.3
81.8
Public Sector Share (%)
13.9
15.5
29.4
13.5
Top 7 includes SAIL, RINL, NSL, TSL Group, AM/NS, JSL(JSPL), JSW Group

1c. Steel Prices (in ₹/tonne)
Product
Jul-26
Aug-26
Sep-26
MoM %
YoY %
TMT (10 mm)
₹ 56,698
₹ 58,002
₹ 65,298
12.6%
21.0%
HR Coil (2 mm)
₹ 69,828
₹ 70,448
₹ 76,085
8.0%
26.8%
CR Coil (0.63 mm)
₹ 76,582
₹ 76,462
₹ 84,972
11.1%
28.8%
GP Sheet (0.63 mm)
₹ 86,415
₹ 86,668
₹ 94,148
8.6%
27.7%
Note: Prices are inclusive of GST and shown in ₹/tonne, based on average prices from four metro cities-Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai.
2. Demand (in Mt)
Indicator
Sep 2026
Sep 2025
YoY %
Apr-Sep
2026
Apr-Sep
2025
CPLY %
Finished Steel
Consumption
14.4
13.3
8.0
84.9
79.0
7.5

3. Trade Dynamics
3a. Finished Steel - Import & Export
Indicator
Unit
Sep-26
Sep-25
YoY %
Apr-Sep
2026
Apr-Sep
2025
CPLY %
Imports
'000 t
654.4
651.9
0.4
4141.8
3344.8
23.8
Rs Crore
7496.2
5032.9
48.9
43690.1
31205.4
40.0
Exports
'000 t
561.8
584.0
-3.8
3547.8
2810.2
26.2
Rs Crore
4617.1
4020.4
14.8
28263.7
21931.5
28.9
Net Trade
Position
India was net importer of finished steel in terms of quantity for the period of Apr-Sep 2026

4. Raw Materials
4a. Domestic Raw Material Prices (₹/tonne)
Commodity
Jul 2026
Aug 2026
Sep 2026
MoM Change
NMDC Iron Ore Baila Lump
(65.5%, 10-40 mm)
₹ 5,450
₹ 5,250
₹ 5,400
2.9%
NMDC Iron Ore Baila Fines
(64%, 0-10 mm)
₹ 4,700
₹ 4,500
₹ 4,500
-
MOIL Manganese Ore Lump (Mn
37%, Fe 7.5%)
₹ 18,530
₹ 17,603
₹ 17,603
-
Scrap - HMS II
₹ 38,580
₹ 39,970
₹ 43,810
9.6%
5. Key Indices
Index
Jul 2026
Aug 2026
Sep 2026
MoM
Change
YoY
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
The Ministry of Steel has decided to set up a Steel Industry Safety Council (SISC), an apex body chaired by Secretary, Ministry of Steel, to strengthen safety standards, accident prevention and safety culture across the steel industry. A dedicated Steel Industry Safety Directorate (SISD) will support the Council through safety audits, investigation of serious incidents and issuance of safety standards suited to Indian conditions, covering iron and steel producers and CPSE mines.
NMDC commissioned its 2 MTPA pellet plant at Nagarnar, Chhattisgarh, completing its ₹5,427-crore integrated project. The project comprises an iron ore processing plant at Bacheli, a 135-km, 15 MTPA slurry pipeline and the Nagarnar pellet plant, which uses Straight Grate Induration technology. It will enable value addition from Bailadila iron ore fines and slimes, reduce road transport of ore and strengthen NMDC's presence across the iron ore value chain.
NMDC's iron ore production rose 8% YoY to 4.04 Mt in September 2026, taking H1 FY 2026-27 output to 27.3 Mt, up nearly 23% over H1 FY 2025-26, keeping the company on track towards its annual production targets.
SAIL and Bharat Coking Coal Limited (BCCL) signed an MoU for the joint development and operation of SAIL's Indikatta Ramnagore Coal Block and BCCL's East of Damagoria (Kalyaneshwari) Coal Block in West Bengal. The partnership strengthens cooperation between the two CPSEs and supports the development of domestic coking coal sources.
SAIL's Rourkela Steel Plant commissioned an in-house AI-based safety surveillance system at Hot Strip Mill-2. The system uses 10 IP cameras and computer vision to detect helmet violations and trigger automated alarms. It also logs time-stamped events, and future phases will extend it to other PPE violations, unsafe acts, fire and other hazards.
7. Green Steel Initiatives
Under the Ministry of Steel's Green Steel Initiative, 101 distinct steel producers have been issued Green Steel Certificates across the lists issued up to September 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.
Jadavpur University, in collaboration with SAIL, DVC and HURL, is setting up a ₹8.18-crore Centre of Excellence for green hydrogen research, one of four approved by the Ministry of New and Renewable Energy. SAIL will test and apply the technologies developed at its facilities, supporting green hydrogen use in steel, power and fertiliser production under the National Green Hydrogen Mission.
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.