Union Minister of State for Steel, Bhupathiraju Srinivas Varma, held a productive meeting with Ms Sara Modig, State Secretary to the Minister for Energy, Business and Industry, Sweden, at the Ministry of Steel in New Delhi. Ms Modig was accompanied by His Excellency Mr Jan Thesleff, Ambassador of Sweden to India, and other senior Swedish officials.

During the discussions, Minister Srinivas Varma highlighted the rapid growth of India’s steel sector, driven by the visionary leadership of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. India aims to achieve 300 million tonnes of crude steel production capacity by 2030, in line with its commitment to infrastructure-led growth and industrial expansion.

He noted that domestic steel demand in India is rising by around 11 to 13 per cent annually, fuelled by major national infrastructure initiatives, even as global demand shows signs of slowing down.

The two sides discussed potential avenues for collaboration in Research and Development (R&D), particularly in Green Steel Production and other advanced technologies designed to reduce carbon emissions and promote sustainable manufacturing.

Minister Varma also reaffirmed India’s invitation to Sweden to participate in Bharat Steel 2026, an international conference-cum-exhibition dedicated to the steel industry. The event is scheduled to take place on 16–17 April 2026 at Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, and will serve as a global platform for dialogue, partnerships, and technology exchange in sustainable steelmaking.

The meeting underscored India’s commitment to fostering global cooperation in decarbonising steel production, aligning with both countries’ shared goals of sustainability, innovation, and industrial growth.

Infrastructure major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) announced on Friday that it has secured significant orders from Hindalco Industries and Tata Steel, strengthening its presence in the metals and minerals sector.

The company’s minerals and metals business vertical won an order from Hindalco to set up a 180 KTPA aluminium smelter and gas treatment centre for a greenfield project in Odisha, as well as a separate order from Tata Steel to construct a coke oven battery at Jamshedpur.

These are among several recent orders bagged by the vertical in India, L&T said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE).

The scope of the projects includes engineering, manufacturing, supply, construction, and plant installation.

T Kumaresan, Senior Vice President and Head of Minerals & Metals at L&T, said,

“These order wins across the aluminium and steel sectors are a testament to L&T’s engineering excellence, execution capability, and long-standing customer relationships. They further strengthen our role in shaping the nation’s industrial infrastructure, while deepening our engagement with the steel sector through world-class execution and technological excellence.”

The contracts underscore L&T’s strategic focus on expanding its footprint in India’s metals and industrial infrastructure segment, which continues to see strong growth driven by rising domestic demand and capacity expansion across core sectors.