Tata Steel has approved a major ₹33,873-crore expansion of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL), marking one of its biggest bets on India’s long-term steel demand and strengthening its domestic growth strategy.
The company’s board has cleared the first phase of the NINL expansion, which will add 4.8 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) of steelmaking capacity. Once completed, the Odisha-based facility will have a total capacity of 6.2 MTPA. Tata Steel said the project has already completed its engineering phase and is at an advanced stage of readiness for execution.
The investment is aimed particularly at expanding Tata Steel’s long-products business, including branded steel products used extensively in construction, infrastructure and retail markets. The company sees NINL as an important platform for increasing its presence in higher-margin and value-added steel products.
The decision comes after a significant turnaround at NINL. Tata Steel acquired the Odisha-based company in 2022 for ₹12,100 crore, when the plant was facing financial and operational difficulties. Since then, the facility has been brought back to stable operations and has been running at its rated capacity for the past two years, according to the company.
NINL’s recent performance has strengthened the case for further investment. In FY26, the plant produced around 0.95 million tonnes of crude steel and delivered 0.91 million tonnes. While revenue moderated to ₹5,282 crore amid softer steel prices, its EBITDA improved to ₹1,236 crore from ₹1,067 crore a year earlier. The facility reported an EBITDA margin of about 23%.
During the June quarter of FY27, NINL generated EBITDA of ₹498 crore, giving it a margin of 29%. Tata Steel said the performance provides confidence in the proposed expansion.
NINL is strategically located in Odisha, close to Tata Steel’s Kalinganagar operations. The company also has access to a captive iron ore mine, giving the facility an important raw-material advantage as it expands.
The expansion is expected to play a central role in Tata Steel’s strategy to grow its long-products portfolio. These products include steel used in housing, construction, infrastructure and other applications.
Tata Steel said demand for its branded products remains strong, particularly in the retail market. Brands such as Tata Tiscon have continued to see strong growth, supporting the company’s decision to increase domestic long-product capacity.
The company has also pointed to the sizeable land bank available around NINL. According to Fortune India, the site has the potential to support capacity of up to 10 MTPA over the longer term. This gives Tata Steel room to develop NINL into a much larger steel hub over time.
The proposed expansion is therefore more than a simple capacity addition. It is intended to create a larger integrated manufacturing base for Tata Steel’s India operations and strengthen its position in value-added steel.
The NINL investment comes at a time when Tata Steel’s Indian operations are providing a strong cushion against difficulties in its overseas businesses.
For the April-June quarter of FY27, Tata Steel reported consolidated revenue of ₹60,794 crore and EBITDA of ₹9,370 crore. EBITDA increased 25% year-on-year despite a challenging global operating environment.
India remained the strongest part of the business. The India segment reported revenue of ₹36,989 crore and EBITDA of ₹9,908 crore, with an EBITDA margin of 27%. Domestic deliveries also grew strongly, with Tata Steel reporting an 11% year-on-year increase to 4.85 million tonnes.
The company’s consolidated profit after tax stood at ₹2,385 crore in the June quarter, compared with ₹2,007 crore a year earlier. Tata Steel’s India business helped offset pressure from its European operations, where operational disruptions and restructuring challenges continued.
Tata Steel is moving ahead with the NINL project while maintaining a close watch on its balance sheet.
The company spent ₹3,579 crore on capital expenditure during the June quarter. Its net debt stood at ₹84,173 crore at the end of the quarter, while net debt-to-EBITDA was 2.3 times. Group liquidity remained strong at ₹45,950 crore, including ₹13,221 crore in cash and cash equivalents.
The numbers indicate that Tata Steel has financial headroom to continue investing in India even as it manages restructuring and operational challenges in Europe.
The company has also been pursuing other domestic projects, including the ramp-up of its 0.75 MTPA electric arc furnace at Ludhiana and expansion of downstream facilities.
Tata Steel expects the proposed NINL expansion to be the first phase of a broader growth programme. The company has indicated that the facility’s location, land availability and raw-material access could support further expansion in the future.
The company also expects the merger of NINL with Tata Steel to be completed during FY27. The integration is expected to simplify the corporate structure and create operational synergies.
For Tata Steel, the ₹33,873-crore investment signals a clear strategic preference: expand where India’s steel demand is expected to remain strong, build scale in domestic manufacturing and move further into value-added products.
With NINL set to increase its capacity from its current level to 6.2 MTPA, the Odisha facility is poised to become an increasingly important part of Tata Steel’s India growth story. The project also underlines the company’s broader ambition to strengthen its domestic steelmaking footprint while building a more competitive and integrated portfolio for the years ahead.
