New Delhi: India has taken a major step toward cleaner industrial production by allocating Rs 455 crore for pilot projects that will use hydrogen in the steel sector, the Parliament was informed on Friday. The funding has been approved under the National Green Hydrogen Mission launched by the Ministry of New & Renewable Energy and will be available until the financial year 2029–30.
The pilot projects aim to reduce carbon emissions from steelmaking, one of the country’s most energy-intensive industries, Minister of State for Steel Bhupathiraju Srinivasa Varma said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha. According to the data, four pilot projects have already been awarded. These include one project in a central public sector enterprise and three in private-sector steel plants. The introduction of hydrogen in the steelmaking process is expected to cut dependence on coal and significantly reduce emissions.
The government has also taken several steps to expand the production of green or low-carbon steel in line with India’s goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2070. As part of these efforts, the Ministry of Steel notified the Taxonomy of Green Steel on December 23, 2024. This framework sets clear standards for defining and categorising low-emission steel. So far, 43 private steel units have received ‘Green Steel Certificates’ under the new classification system.
These plants have a combined production capacity of 11.6 million tonnes per year and currently produce 7.1 million tonnes of green steel annually. The certification is expected to encourage more companies to adopt cleaner technologies and shift toward sustainable production. To support the transition, the Ministry of Steel has also released a detailed report titled “Greening the Steel Sector in India: Roadmap and Action Plan.” The report is based on recommendations from 14 task forces and outlines long-term strategies for making the Indian steel industry cleaner and more sustainable. It serves as a guide for how the sector can contribute meaningfully to the country’s net-zero roadmap.
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