AI-driven process control systems, automation critical for India's steel growth, says Steel Secretary

New Delhi: Intelligent automation, digital twins, advanced analytics, and AI-driven process control systems will be critical to ensuring that India's steel growth remains globally competitive and environmentally responsible, Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik said on Wednesday.

Speaking at the inauguration of the Steel Pavilion at the ongoing India AI Impact Summit 2026 here, Poundrik said the country's crude steel capacity is targeted to increase from the current level of 200 million tonnes to 300 million tonnes by 2030-2031 and further to 400 million tonnes by 2035-2036.

This expansion will be supported by parallel growth in mining output, logistics networks, beneficiation capacity, and downstream value addition. Such rapid scaling requires intelligent capacity utilisation, real-time monitoring, efficient energy management, decarbonisation strategies, and optimised capital deployment.


AI is therefore positioned as a strategic enabler rather than a peripheral tool, he said.

"Intelligent automation, digital twins, advanced analytics, and AI-driven process control systems will be critical to ensuring that India's steel growth remains globally competitive and environmentally responsible," the official said.

The Secretary emphasised that as capacity expands, productivity, quality, safety, and sustainability must improve proportionately.

India's steel consumption has nearly doubled from 77 million tonnes in 2014 to 2015 to 152 million tonnes in 2024 to 2025, reflecting the rapid pace of infrastructure expansion, urbanisation, manufacturing growth, and rising domestic demand, the Secretary said. He said major national initiatives in railways, highways, housing, renewable energy, defence production, and industrial corridors have reinforced steel's central role in nation-building.