Indian steelmakers are funding their own low-carbon upgrades after a promised Rs 15,000 crore Green Steel Mission was cut to Rs 5,000 crore and still has no cabinet approval. JSW, Tata, Jindal and SAIL are each taking different routes, from electric furnaces to coal gasification and hydrogen pilots. Smaller mills that produce half of India's steel have no such cushion. The urgency comes from Europe's CBAM, which now charges for carbon in imported steel, and from India's upcoming carbon market that will eventually cover the sector. India's steel industry averages 2.55 tonnes of CO2 per tonne of crude steel, well above the government's 2.2 tonne green threshold and the global average near 1.9 tonnes. Every delay risks locking in high-carbon plants for decades.
