JSW Group - Life Beyond Steel

India's biggest steelmaker led by Chairman Sajjan Jindal zeroes in on cement, paints, ports, power, EVs and drones among new opportunities thrown open by India's economic boom.

- Nevin John

ONE EARLY SUNDAY MORNING in December, when Toranagallu village in Bellary-Hospet iron ore belt of Karnataka is yet to wake up from its weekend slumber, a Bombardier Global Express lands at Jindal Vijaynagar airport in the village. On board is JSW Group chairman Sajjan Jindal, here to take stock of Vijaynagar SteelWorks that is expanding capacity from 12 million tonnes (MT) to 19MT by next financial year.

For shop floor workers familiar with Jindal’s weekend self-charging habits, the visit is hardly a surprise, though. Sajjan Jindal tells Fortune India his world revolves around coils & bars, capacities, markets and product innovations. This passion drove the second son of industrialist and politician, late O.P. Jindal, to counter the might of Tatas and Mittals to build from scratch the country’s largest steel empire with 27MT capacity in 30-odd years. Now, the $22 billion group is spending ₹48,852 crore to scale up steel capacity to 37.8MT by March 2025. Next targets are 50MT by March 2027 and 75MT by March 2030. In doing so, Jindal hopes to reinvent JSW Steel as one of the world’s largest green steel producers. “If we make 75MT the way we are making 27MT, the world will not accept it considering the pollution the capacities will produce,” says Parth Jindal, Sajjan’s son and MD of JSW Cement and JSW Paints.

But steel is one part of the story. Sajjan Jindal's eyes are set on opportunities that India's rise as one of the few bright stars amid global recession is throwing up. Jindal expects domestic private sector groups like his to play a big role in India's journey from a $3 trillion economy to a $10 trillion economy in 10-12 years. His target: multiply revenues three-four times to $60-80 billion by 2030.