By Neha Arora
NEW DELHI (Reuters) – India’s steel ministry has asked for 150 billion rupees ($1.74 billion) from the budget to offer mills incentives to produce low-carbon steel, two government sources with direct knowledge of the matter told Reuters.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman will present the federal budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year on Feb. 1.
India, the world’s biggest steel producer after China, has been working on a green steel policy aimed at decarbonising production of the alloy, part of a wider push towards cutting greenhouse gas emissions under a 2070 net-zero target set by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The steel ministry plans to offer incentives to reduce emissions, boost research and development and increase raw material efficiency, as well as encourage banks to offer lower interest rates on renewable energy loans, said the sources, who wished to remain anonymous as deliberations are not public.
The steel ministry did not respond to an email seeking comment.
Once funds are allocated to the ministry, a proposal for the incentives to be offered to steel mills would be sent for cabinet approval, the sources said.
The government last month defined steel produced with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 2.2 metric tons per ton of finished steel as ‘green’.
The incentives would remain in place until 2030, the sources said. India is also considering the use of green steel in government projects.
Steel producers in India, the world’s fastest-growing major economy, generate 2.55 metric tons of carbon dioxide per ton of crude steel produced, 38% higher than the global average of 1.85 tons, according to Global Energy Monitor.
(Reporting by Neha Arora; Editing by Mayank Bhardwaj, Kirsten Donovan)
