India’s Steel Sector Goes Digital: Ministry Unveils AI Roadmap to Build a Global Tech-Driven Steel Powerhouse

In a major push to modernise one of India's most strategic industrial sectors, the Ministry of Steel today unveiled a comprehensive roadmap on Digital Opportunities in the Steel Sector at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit 2026 at Bharat Mandapam.

The roadmap signals a decisive shift in India's steel growth strategy — from expansion driven purely by capacity to a future shaped by intelligent systems, automation, predictive analytics and AI-led decision-making across the entire value chain.

As India positions itself to become a global steel leader by 2047, the Ministry emphasised that competitiveness in the next era will depend as much on data and algorithms as on furnaces and metallurgy.

AI in Steel: From Vision to Action

At the centre of the announcement is the launch of the AI in Steel Pavilion, described as a first-of-its-kind collaborative platform designed not as a showcase, but as a problem-to-solution marketplace.

Unlike conventional exhibitions, the Pavilion presents real industry problem statements and invites startups, technology firms, researchers and innovators to co-create deployable solutions.

The challenges highlighted span:

• Operational efficiency and yield improvement

• Predictive maintenance and downtime reduction

• Worker safety through computer vision systems

• Supply chain and logistics optimisation

• Quality control automation

• Sustainability, emissions reduction and decarbonisation

• AI-enabled marketing and demand forecasting

The Pavilion reflects the Ministry's intent to move beyond isolated pilot projects toward mission-mode AI integration across mining, logistics, production and governance.

Industry–Startup Convergence to Accelerate Deployment

A high-level session at the Summit brought together leading steel producers, iron ore miners, policymakers and AI innovators to chart the sector's digital future.

Major public and private enterprises presented their digitalisation roadmaps and outlined priority areas where AI interventions can deliver immediate value.

Steel leaders called for solutions such as:

• Predictive maintenance algorithms

• Intelligent raw material blending systems

• Digital twins for process control

• AI-driven decision support platforms

• Models for lowering emissions and optimising energy use

AI companies, in turn, expressed readiness to develop domain-specific tools tailored to India's industrial realities.

This convergence is expected to create a structured innovation pipeline where solutions can be rapidly tested, validated and scaled across the ecosystem.

Steel Growth Momentum: Consumption Nearly Doubles

In his address, the Secretary, Ministry of Steel, highlighted India's rapid steel growth trajectory.

India's steel consumption has nearly doubled:

• 77 million tonnes (2014–15)

• 152 million tonnes (2024–25)

This surge reflects accelerating infrastructure expansion, urbanisation, industrial growth and rising domestic demand, driven by national initiatives in:

• Railways and highways

• Housing and industrial corridors

• Renewable energy infrastructure

• Defence manufacturing

Steel, the Secretary noted, remains central to India's nation-building ambitions.

Capacity Targets for Viksit Bharat @2047

The Ministry outlined ambitious, time-bound benchmarks for the coming decade:

• 200 million tonnes → 300 million tonnes by 2030–31

• 400 million tonnes by 2035–36

This expansion will require parallel growth in:

• Mining output

• Logistics and transportation networks

• Beneficiation capacity

• Downstream value addition

The Secretary stressed that such scaling cannot succeed without intelligent capacity utilisation, real-time monitoring and AI-enabled process optimisation.

AI as a Strategic Enabler, Not a Peripheral Tool

The roadmap positions AI as critical to ensuring that productivity, quality, safety and sustainability improve proportionately as capacity rises.

Key enablers include:

• Advanced analytics

• AI-driven process control

• Intelligent automation

• Digital twins

• Decarbonisation modelling

Industry leaders also highlighted requirements from startups, including:

• Scalable architectures

• Cybersecurity resilience

• Multilingual workforce interfaces

• Solutions customised for Indian operating conditions

Steel Research Mission as a National AI Sandbox

The Ministry issued a strong call to innovators, inviting AI developers, deep-tech startups, academic institutions and laboratories to leverage the Steel Research and Technology Mission of India as a live sandbox for industrial AI deployment.

The steel sector, officials noted, represents one of India's largest AI opportunity landscapes — spanning heavy manufacturing, mining, sustainability and global trade.

The Future of Steel Will Be Forged by Data

The event concluded with a message of confidence in India's innovation ecosystem. As India expands steel capacity to meet domestic aspirations and global demand, digital intelligence will define efficiency, resilience and competitiveness.

The Ministry's message was clear:

The next era of Indian steel will not only be forged in furnaces — it will be powered by algorithms, driven by innovation, and strengthened through collaboration.