# JSW Steel plans to end iron ore imports as domestic supply rises 2026-08-21T21:57:31+00:00 | Business & Economy | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet JSW Steel, India's largest iron ore importer, plans to phase out imports of the key steelmaking raw material as new domestic mines and logistics infrastructure come online, a top company executive said. The shift aims to shield the steelmaker from global price shocks and reduce India's dependence on overseas supplies. Puneet Jagatramka, executive vice president at JSW Steel, said at BigMint's India Ferrous Week in Kolkata that the company wants to eliminate imports because India is rich in iron ore deposits. JSW Steel currently meets about two-fifths of its ore requirement through captive mines, with the remainder sourced from the market and imports. India imported 12.2 million tonnes of iron ore in 2025, the highest in seven years, with JSW Steel accounting for nearly 80% of that. The company plans to bid for upcoming iron ore mine auctions and invest in logistics infrastructure, including building a pipeline from NMDC's mines to a port. JSW Steel is expanding capacity from 35 million tonnes to 55 million tonnes by 2030 and 79 million tonnes by 2032, making secure domestic ore supplies increasingly important. About 30 million tonnes of pipeline capacity is expected to become operational within a year. ## Indian Opinion Analysis The steel industry is India's second-largest industrial consumer of imported raw materials after crude oil. India holds the world's seventh-largest iron ore reserves, but bureaucratic delays in mine auctions and logistics bottlenecks have kept domestic supply below demand for years. JSW Steel's plan to end imports hinges on the success of upcoming mine auctions and infrastructure projects such as the proposed pipeline from NMDC's mines in Chhattisgarh to the west coast. If executed, it could cut the company's raw material costs by an estimated Rs 500-800 per tonne, analysts say. The next test will be the auction calendar for iron ore blocks, which the mines ministry is expected to announce in the current fiscal quarter. ## Coverage - livemint.com Straight business report with executive quotes and data, no political slant. This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: BigMint, iron ore, JSW Steel, NMDC, Puneet Jagatramka Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/jsw-steel-plans-to-end-iron-ore-imports-as-domestic-supply-rises/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/jsw-steel-plans-to-end-iron-ore-imports-as-domestic-supply-rises/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/