Steel Ministry Signs Rs.11,887 Cr MoUs Under PLI 1.2 Scheme

• The Ministry of Steel signed MoUs with 55 companies for 85 specialty steel projects
• The scheme targets import-dependent steel grades for strategic, electrical, and high-end applications
• PLI 1.2 aims to strengthen India’s specialty steel ecosystem, and promote domestic production

The Ministry of Steel recently signed Memoranda of Understanding (MoUs) with 55 companies for 85 projects under the third round of the Production-Linked Incentive scheme for specialty steel. The participating firms committed investments of ₹11,887 crore and proposed a capacity addition of 8.7 million tonnes.

The MoUs were signed at Vigyan Bhawan in front of Union Minister of Heavy Industries Steel H D Kumaraswamy and Minister of State Bhupathi Raju Srinivasa Varma who officially launched PLI Scheme 1.2 which started in November of the previous year.

PLI 1.2 focuses on specialty steel grades where India relies on imports, particularly for strategic, electrical, and high-end downstream applications. The scheme covers 22 product sub-categories across four segments, including steel for strategic sectors, coated and wire products, offering incentives of 4–15% over five years starting FY26.

Kumaraswamy described PLI 1.2 as a decisive step toward creating a resilient, globally competitive specialty steel ecosystem, which helps to close structural deficiencies while it enhances domestic steel production capacity and protects foreign currency reserves and establishes India as a trustworthy global steel supplier.

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He stated, “Across PLI 1.0 and 1.1, committed investments of ₹43,874 crore have already translated into substantial on-ground progress, including significant capacity creation and employment generation. PLI 1.2 builds on this momentum, deepening the domestic steel ecosystem and strengthening the entire value chain”.

Steel Secretary Sandeep Poundrik explained that the program had established new investment requirements which combined previous program experiences with actual production results to create new guidelines for the program's operations. The base year was revised to FY25 to better reflect market realities.

He said, “From the government side, facilitation remains a priority. Issues relating to approvals, visas for foreign experts, coordination with state governments, and inter-ministerial matters are being addressed through structured engagement”.

He explained that the scheme requires successful implementation through three elements which include funding, project start dates and ongoing manufacturing activities. PLI 1.2, he noted, is designed as an enabler, not merely an incentive.