Now Reading: Tata Steel doubled India capacity under Chandra, Europe still weighs
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Tata Steel doubled India capacity under Chandra, Europe still weighs
Tata Steel doubled India capacity under Chandra, Europe still weighs
Tata Steel has more than doubled its Indian steelmaking capacity to 27.4 million tonnes since FY2018, making India its primary cash generator, chairman N Chandrasekaran told shareholders at the company's July AGM.…
The Story in Brief
Tata Steel has more than doubled its Indian steelmaking capacity to 27.4 million tonnes since FY2018, making India its primary cash generator, chairman N Chandrasekaran told shareholders at the company's July AGM. The expansion came through acquisitions such as Bhushan Steel and Neelachal Ispat, and the second phase of Kalinganagar, which raised capacity from 3 mt to 8 mt in FY26.
European operations, particularly the UK's Port Talbot, remain a long-term challenge. Chandrasekaran said losses have been stemmed and construction of an electric arc furnace began in July 2025. The move is expected to improve economics, though the site has faced years of restructuring and capacity decline from 10 mt to 3.2 mt.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that Tata Steel has 'fixed India but failed Europe' is too simplistic. India's capacity doubled partly because of distress sales like Bhushan Steel, a result of the bankruptcy code, not just strategic genius. Europe's struggles stem from the 2007 Corus acquisition, a debt burden that successive managements could not shake off. The real test will be whether the Port Talbot electric arc furnace can make UK operations cash-positive. If not, shareholders will again ask: how long is the runway? Watch the margin improvement in European steel.
Source: rediff.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
