Union Minister for Steel and Heavy Industries HD Kumaraswamy on Tuesday launched the third round of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) scheme for specialty steel.
The steel ministry’s PLI scheme, approved by the government in July 2021, has attracted investment commitments worth ₹43,874 crore, is expected to create 30,760 direct jobs and produce around 14.3 million tonnes of special steel across all designated product categories, the statement said.
From September 2025, the participating companies invested in the first two rounds ₹22,973 crore and created 13,284 jobs.
The scheme is a key initiative under Atmanirbhar Bharat’s vision to make India a global hub for steel production.
The third round (PLI 1.2) aims to attract new investment in emerging and advanced steel products such as superalloys, CRGO, stainless steel long and flat products, titanium alloys and coated steels. This is expected to create significant employment, expand high-end steel capacity and position India as a preferred supplier in the global value chain for specialty steels, the statement said.
In the third round, it was decided that only companies registered in India engaged in final manufacturing of notified products would be eligible to apply for incentives. The application window will be open for 30 days.
The third round of the PLI scheme covers 22 product sub-categories in five broad target segments, including strategic steel grades, commercial grades (categories 1 and 2) and coated/wire products.
The program will provide incentives ranging from 4% to 15% of incremental sales depending on product subcategory and year of manufacture. The benefit will be available for a maximum of five years from 2025-26, with incentive payments commencing in 2026-27.
The steel ministry said the base year for steel prices has been revised from 2019-20 to 2024-25 to reflect current trends.
“Inclusion of products like stainless steel long and flat products, coated steel and wire products requires a view from the point of view of suitability and what exactly the products contain. I am sure the government has studied the benefits of PLI well before including the new products,” said AS Firoz, former Chief Economist, Ministry of Steel.
