Government Green Steel Mission: A Guide to Upgrading the Steel Industry for Climate Change

Steel being a critical sector of various industrial and economic development in India has a vast contribution to infrastructure, manufacturing, and exporting nations. However, steel production according to statistics is one of the largest carbon emitters in the world and a major obstacle in the quest by the country to attain sustainable development. Realizing this, the Government has launched the Green Steel Mission – a Rs 15,000 crore plan to build a low or no-carbon steel industry in line with India’s Net Zero Target. This roadmap shows India’s huge commitment to the future of the environment and the Country’s aim to become the world’s number one exporter of sustainable steel.

Initial Steps Toward the Green Steel Mission

• The government has started the Green Steel Mission with a vision map of Rs 15,000 crore to assist the steel industry reduce its carbon footprint.

• The mission seeks to achieve coherence with the imagined India’s Net Zero Target, with emphasis on sustainability and decarbonization.

Major Activities under the Mission:

1. Production-Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Green Steel:

   • Promotes the use of incentives that encourage the production of renewable energy in steel making.

   • Requires government agencies to buy green steel products for a better and cleaner environment.

2. National Green Hydrogen Mission:

   • Connects the steel sector for generating and consuming green hydrogen to deliver the steel industry.

   • Sanctioned Rs 455 crore to finance pilot projects in the iron and steel industry in the financial years up to 2029-30. Pilot projects include:

     • The use of 100% hydrogen to bring about Direct Reduced Iron (DRI).

     • Blast furnaces purpose for using hydrogen in production with a view of reducing on its use of coal.

3. Green Steel Reports and Standards

   • Taxonomy for Green Steel:

     • Launched in December 2024 for specifying and setting up the low-emission steelmaking principles.

     • Further describes how to establish the green steel market and secure funding.

4. Report on Greening the Steel Sector:

   • Issued in September 2024 relying on responses from 14 of the task forces dedicated to a decarbonization effort.

5. Boost to demand for producing Specialty Steel 

   • The World’s First Public-Private-Government Integrated PLI scheme for Specialty Steel has facilitated investment commitments of Rs 27,106 crore.

   • As of October 2024:

     • Rs 17,581 crore invested.

     • Over 8,660 jobs created.

     • Specialty steel output is expected 7.90 million tonnes.

Data on steel producing in India

• India’s steel industry is the second largest in the world in terms of crude steel production capacity, contributing about 7% of the global production. The crude steel production in India during 2019–20 was as low as 111 million tons, and India is contributing only 5% of the global demand for green steel.

• The steel industry’s roadmap to Net Zero is the Green Steel Mission launched by the Indian government costing the steel industry ₹ 15,000 crore.

• India has come up with rules to categorize what is known as“green steel” which should have CO₂ emissions less than 2.2 metric tons of CO₂ equivalent per ton of finished steel.

• The green steel market size globally was $200 million in 2022 and is expected to rise to $364.5 billion in 2032, at a CAGR of 113.6% in the forecast period between 2023 and 2032.

• The situation of the Indian steel sector in the global commitment made towards increasing level of decarbonization to cater the growing green steel demand is imperative and crucial for competitiveness.

• Annual CO₂ emissions by the steel industry are estimated at 240 million tonnes and it will nearly double exponentially.

Focus on Resource Efficiency

The increase in the availability of domestically generated scrap, the reduction in the importation of raw materials, and the maximization on conserving resources are supported by the Steel Scrap Recycling Policy. Recycling steel not only reduces emissions but also goes well with the circular economy as well.

Global Strategy in Steel Industries

The government is preparing a plan called Steel Global Outlook Strategy to make India the highest foreign steel producer. This includes:

• Substantial reinforcing cross-border cooperation in matters of raw material supply, investments, technology, and export.

• Preparing a round strategy paper as a basis for determining focus countries and domains of cooperation.

This program is envisaged to provide domestic steel requirements and increase export capacity to make India a global player.

Achieving Universal mass production of steel

The Quality Control Order (QCO) regulates specifications and tests, methods, and procedures of making steel. They require all the manufacturers which include the domestic and the foreign to use the standards deemed by the Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) to enhance the supply of high-quality steel in the country.

Conclusion

The Green Steel Mission means that India, gradually changing its traditional worldview of economic growth at the cost of the environment, adopting a new form of industrialization. Through the active use of renewable energy, promoting innovation, and developing efficiency of resources, the mission meets the two objectives of reducing carbon emissions and increasing the production of steel. The steps taken by India toward International cooperation and investment and commitment to sustainable development put the country on the path to transitioning to sustainable Green steel production and leading the path for countries across the world in industrial decarbonization.