India Advances Green Steel and Decarbonization Initiatives
The government has taken multiple steps to decarbonize the steel sector, focusing on green technologies, carbon capture, and recycling.
The Ministry of Steel has released the Taxonomy for Green Steel, setting standards for low-emission steel production. It has also published a report, Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan, outlining strategies to achieve net-zero emissions by 2070. Additionally, seven pilot projects have been launched under the National Green Hydrogen Mission to explore hydrogen use in steel production.
To further reduce emissions, the National Solar Mission, launched in 2010, promotes solar energy adoption in the industry. The Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH) has introduced a Vehicle Scrapping Policy to phase out older, polluting vehicles and facilitate metal recovery through authorized scrapping facilities. The Ministry of Mines has also implemented the National Non-Ferrous Metal Scrap Recycling Framework, 2020, to standardize metal recycling practices.
The Ministry of Environment, Forest & Climate Change has announced the Environment Protection (End-of-Life Vehicles) Rules, 2025, enforcing Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) to ensure manufacturers meet annual vehicle scrapping targets. Additionally, the Carbon Credit Trading Scheme (CCTS), introduced by the Ministry of Power in June 2023, establishes a framework for carbon trading in India.
The Ministry of Steel's CPSEs are collaborating with global technology leaders, including BHP (Australia), SMS (Germany), Primetal Technologies (UK), and John Cockerill India (Belgium), along with Indian institutions such as IIT Bombay's NCoE-CCU, to develop low-carbon steel production technologies.
