The Ministry of Steel has signed memoranda of understanding (MoUs) with industry partners to promote a series of 85 projects under the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Schemes like PLI 1 and PLI 2 aimed at strengthening India’s steel manufacturing ecosystem. The collective investment commitment for these projects amounts to ₹11,887 crore, signalling a significant push toward domestic value addition and competitiveness in key steel segments.
Under the PLI programmes, companies commit to investments that enhance production capacity, introduce advanced manufacturing technologies, and expand localisation of input materials. The MoUs signed cover a broad array of steel product categories, including speciality steel, high-end alloys, coated products, and other value-added segments that are critical for infrastructure, automotive, energy, defence, and engineering industries.
The execution of these PLI-linked projects is expected to generate substantial employment opportunities, promote effluent-efficient and technology-driven steelmaking, and reduce dependence on imports of high-end steel products. A significant share of the planned investments will be directed toward modernisation of existing plants, adoption of clean and energy-efficient processes, and integrating downstream facilities.
Officials said the signing of MoUs marks an important milestone in operationalising the incentives and ensuring that committed capacity is brought online within stipulated timelines. Participants in the programme are required to meet benchmarking criteria related to production targets, incremental turnover, quality standards, and domestic value content to qualify for scheme benefits.
The PLI Schemes for steel were introduced to attract large investments into manufacturing, enhance global competitiveness, and incentivise production of specialised steel products that form a strategic part of India’s industrial base. By linking incentives directly to incremental production and sales, the programmes are designed to catalyse incremental growth in value-added steel segments while strengthening the broader supply chain.
Industry representatives welcomed the signing of the MoUs, noting that the framework provides clarity on investment commitments and timelines, and helps align private sector capacity expansion plans with national manufacturing priorities. They reaffirmed their intention to progress rapidly toward implementation of the projects and meet the expected milestones under the PLI framework.
With the MoUs now in place, the focus will shift to project execution, capital expenditure deployment, technology implementation, and monitoring of progress against scheme benchmarks. The combined efforts under PLI 1 and PLI 2 are expected to significantly boost India’s steel production capabilities in next-generation steel products and contribute to the nation’s manufacturing growth trajectory.
