India is targeting 600 million tonnes of crude steel capacity by 2047 under a new National Steel Policy, the government said, marking one of the most ambitious industrial goals of the coming decades.

A Steel Ministry official said the draft policy would soon be placed for stakeholder comments before being finalised. The policy is meant to guide the industry through the Amrit Kaal period.

India is the world’s second-largest steel producer, with current capacity of about 220 million tonnes. The new target would nearly triple that over the next two decades.

The policy is expected to address raw material security, green steel production, logistics costs and the competitiveness of secondary producers.

Industry analysts said the target depends heavily on infrastructure spending, power costs and demand from construction, railways and automobiles. The government has also been pushing value-added steel and exports to reduce dependence on imports of high-grade products used in defence and automotive manufacturing.