Tata Steel Unveils Major India Expansion With 4.8 MTPA Boost at NINL

• Tata Steel approves a major 4.8 mtpa capacity expansion at NINL, marking a nearly five-fold increase from its earlier 1 mtpa operations.
• Board greenlights additional growth initiatives, including a 2.5 mtpa thin slab caster and rolling facility at Meramandali to boost flat and thin-gauge steel output.
• Expansion aligns with Tata Steel’s broader India-focused strategy, strengthening long and flat product segments while investing in sustainability, downstream assets, and raw-material security.

Tata Steel reiterated its long-term growth plan for India by announcing an expansion plan that, among others, involves a major capacity expansion at Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL). The company, under the plan, has accorded in-principle approval to expand NINL's capacity by 4.8 million tonnes per annum (mtpa).

NINL, which Tata Steel acquired in 2022, used to operate at around 1 mtpa. The proposed expansion would thus represent nearly a five-fold increase in capacity and significantly enlarge Tata Steel's presence in long products production, especially in the retail construction sector.

According to the company, this marks Phase 1 of the capacity expansion. The increase is likely to enhance its portfolio of long-products, thereby placing it in an advantageous position to capitalize on emerging demand in India's construction and infrastructure sectors.

But the expansion at NINL is only one pillar of a broader growth thrust. Tata Steel’s board has also approved setting up a 2.5 mtpa thin slab caster and rolling facility at its Meramandali plant to increase finished steel output in flat/thin-gauge products. Finally, it intends to invest in value-added downstream products, mining assets and infrastructure, as well as to adopt 'low-carbon low capital intensity process technologies' aimed at more sustainable steel-making over the long run.

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This deal is against the backdrop of the NINL plant, which had already rebounded quite aggressively after it was closed for two years prior to its acquisition. For the fiscal year 2024-25, NINL posted about Rs 1,000 crore in EBITDA, reflecting the operational turnaround under Tata Steel's management. The turnaround and planned expansion at NINL mark that Tata Steel now views NINL as a strategic growth platform for its long-products business, leveraging its own experience in steel operations along with the rising demand for steel in India in view of infrastructure growth.

The announcement highlights how Tata Steel is doubling down on India's growth potential by strengthening capacity across long-products via NINL and flat/thin-gauge products via Meramandali, while also investing in sustainability, downstream products, and raw-material security in a comprehensive expansion strategy designed to capture growth across multiple segments.