JSW Group may invest Rs 50,000 crore in green steel for European market

"If the Indian industry can really buck up and rise to the occasion, we can be the real replacement for China," said Jindal while speaking at the centenary celebrations of Indian Chambers of Commerce

India is entering a new era of opportunity amid shifting global trade dynamics, JSW Group Chairman Sajjan Jindal said on Tuesday while exhorting the domestic industry to rise to the occasion to become the real replacement of China.

 

Jindal also cautioned against a surge in subsidised steel imports particularly from China routed through Vietnam. He said it threatened to undercut the momentum unless the Indian government enforces trade protections.

 

“If the Indian industry can really buck up and rise to the occasion we can be the real replacement for China,” Jindal said in Mumbai while speaking at the centenary celebrations of Indian Chambers of Commerce.

 

 

“This time it won’t be China plus one. It will be India minus China,” said Jindal. “Whatever comes to India comes via Vietnam, that also now the government is trying to stop,” he said.

 

Jindal said that safeguard duties to curb dumping are imminent. “In a few days I think this safeguard duty will be in place,” he said.

 

India’s steel demand has grown at 10–12 per cent annually since the pandemic. Jindal emphasised that India’s steelmakers must remain profitable to sustain investments in capacity expansion.

 

“We have to make profits to redeploy that money to expand our capacity. China can sell at any cost. Whereas we have to make profits,” he said. “Government of India is quite vigilant about it. And they wouldn’t allow the Indian steel industry to suffer.”

 

The Commerce ministry has last month recommended a 12 per cent safeguard duty on certain steel products for 200 days.

 

Jindal noted that China exported 120 million tons of steel last year, increasingly targeting Africa and Southeast Asia after being shut out of the US and European markets.

 

In response to the EU’s new carbon border tax regime, JSW is planning a dedicated green steel facility aimed at the export market.

 

Jindal said that JSW Steel will invest ₹50,000 crore to ₹ 60,000 crore to build a 10 million tonne per annum green steel plant over the next four years with an aim to export products to Europe.  

 

Jindal also detailed JSW’s strategy to localise key components in electric mobility, including battery cells, a segment currently dominated by China.

 

“In electric cars or mobility, the only thing which is not available today in India is the battery cell,” he said. “We at JSW have plans to manufacture these cells. We are already working on developing the cells with the technology from China.”

 

Addressing concerns about China’s restriction on critical minerals and battery tech exports, Jindal said, “Technology is not so complicated. It’s available in Korea, Japan and China. So, we are already discussing with some Korean companies to develop these cells in India.”