Steel Sector Grows in April-August 2026; NMDC Sets August Record

The Ministry of Steel published the sector's monthly review on 3 September 2026. It covers April to August 2026 and rests on provisional Joint Plant Committee data for August 2026. Every main indicator moved up over the year.

How production and demand moved

Crude steel output for the five months grew 1.8 per cent over the same months of 2025. Hot metal rose 1.9 per cent and finished steel production 3.8 per cent. Finished steel consumption grew 7.0 per cent, which is the fastest of the four. The Top 7 producers of the country are SAIL, RINL, NSL, the TSL Group, AM/NS, JSL (JSPL) and the JSW Group. On the trade side, both imports and exports of finished steel grew, but India stayed a net importer of finished steel by quantity through April to August 2026.

NMDC's record August

NMDC mined 4.07 million tonnes of iron ore in August 2026 and sold 3.58 million tonnes. That is growth of 20.8 per cent in production and 5.6 per cent in sales over the year. For April to August of the financial year, production stood at 23.23 million tonnes and sales at 18.72 million tonnes. Its Kirandul, Bacheli and Donimalai mines each recorded their highest August production so far. NMDC also lit up the indurating machine at its Nagarnar pellet plant, whose capacity is 2 million tonnes a year. The machine turns green pellets into high-strength iron ore pellets by controlled heating and cooling.

Prices to remember

Steel prices quoted by the Ministry include GST and are averages for four metro cities, namely Kolkata, Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai.

Policy, partnerships and green steel

Union Minister of Steel and Heavy Industries H. D. Kumaraswamy reviewed SAIL's performance, capital spending and expansion plans, and pressed for faster modernisation. SAIL received Top Employer certification from the Top Employers Institute, valid till December 2027, following its third consecutive Great Place To Work certification. SRTMI signed a memorandum of understanding with Sweden's SWERIM on iron and steel research, green steel, decarbonisation, the circular economy and advanced steels. Glenn Purves, Deputy Minister at Global Affairs Canada, met Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik to discuss trade, technology and investment in the steel value chain. SAIL's Bhilai Steel Plant launched a carbon dioxide dashboard for the Bhilai plant and the Chandrapur Ferro Alloy Plant, so that emissions can be watched day by day.