Jindal Stainless bets big on defence and aerospace, plans new unit in Maharashtra

Jindal Stainless Limited (JSL) plans to expand its venture into defence, aerospace, and nuclear through its special steel business, which will primarily focus on catering to these three major industries. “This operation should begin by the middle of next year. We will start with special melting using ESR technology and later add VIMVAR, which is an aerospace-grade material,” said Abhyuday Jindal, Managing Director of JSL, at a media roundtable during an event by the Indian Chambers of Commerce.

Jindal sees the defence industry growing at around 10–15% annually, while aerospace and nuclear are still in early stages but are expected to see strong growth. He attributes this growth to India taking steps toward self-reliance amidst global disruptions, which, in turn, has encouraged the metal and defence industries.

Jindal also welcomed the new policies introduced by the government in the defence sector. The Ministry of Defence recently approved the Defence Procurement Manual (DPM) 2025, which will streamline, simplify, enable, and rationalise revenue procurement processes while supporting domestic enterprises. The requirement for obtaining a No Objection Certificate from some DPSUs for private players before going for open bidding has also been scrapped, and tenders will now be awarded purely on a competitive basis, thereby providing a level playing field.

According to Jindal, while new policies would streamline the procurement process, one major challenge remains—the speed of decision-making. “Processes have become clearer, but decision-making still takes too long. India has some of the most stringent testing procedures globally, which is fine, but what we need is faster execution,” he said.

Jindal clarified that he does not want a dilution of standards but expects quicker timelines to close tenders within a year. “If it drags on for two or three years, companies lose interest and start questioning whether the government is serious. For instance, some large projects like the FICV (Future Infantry Combat Vehicle) took almost 15 years before any movement began.” He continued that there is a positive shift in mindset toward relying on homegrown technology instead of foreign dependence.

JSL’s MD also highlighted another challenge—India’s L1 or the “Lowest One” strategy. “As long as India does not move away from its L1 concept in defence, we can never be a world leader,” Jindal said. He remarked that in defence and aerospace, a T1, or technology-first, stance is needed to compete with the likes of the U.S., Israel, and China. “First, catch the technology, then see who has the lowest cost. Focusing on L1 will lead to a compromise on quality.”

Jindal also elaborated on the need for private companies working with the government to see progress in such sectors. He said that India still lacks indigenous technical capabilities and that the government must play a role in ensuring that, while collaborating with global companies, full-scale production should happen in India. The private industry is willing to share expertise, but without strong support, setting up a domestic end-to-end supply chain will be difficult.

Speaking of current steel demand, Jindal said that JSL sees 90% domestic demand. “Whatever demand and growth we are seeing is only in India. Europe is not growing at all. In the U.S., a 50% duty has created confusion. All the growth and investment are coming into India, and domestic demand is driving our growth. We are extremely bullish on India.”

To meet the rising demand, JSL is planning to expand by building a new plant in Maharashtra. The location has not been disclosed, but the acquisition of land is in process.

“We want to start operations by FY29–30. Initially, we will start with 1 million tonnes of stainless steel and scale it up to 4 million tonnes over the next 10–12 years. This will be our single biggest location in India,” Jindal said.

As for stainless steel pricing, Jindal said that imports continue to create pressure. He stressed that having BIS quality control will help not only curb the substandard quality of imports from China and Vietnam but also regulate pricing.

When asked about anti-dumping duties, Jindal said that work is in progress. “The Directorate General of Trade Remedies (DGTR) and our ministries are quite busy with all these BTAs and FTAs, which is why it’s taking longer. But two officers have been appointed, and an investigation is underway. We have supplied the data already, so we are hopeful that in the next four to five months, something positive should emerge,” he concluded.