MC EXCLUSIVE Many wanted us dead but miracles kept us going: Naveen Jindal 

Today, India is the second-biggest producer of steel in the world, producing almost double what the USA produces. So, when people call India a “dead economy,” the facts tell a different story: in steel, we are ahead.

Most of our capacity is focused on the domestic market. Yes, we do export to other countries, and most companies do that. But the majority — around 80% — is consumed within India.

Q. You’ve been very vocal about more safeguards for the domestic steel industry as an outcome of what is happening globally. How much do you think your concerns have been addressed?

A. The government had brought safeguard duties — but we would have liked it to be a little higher. Because see, in India nobody realizes that we are cross-subsidizing so many things.

For example, on power tariffs, industry pays the highest price. On railway freight, we pay the highest, to cross-subsidize coal, fertilizer, and many other things. We also pay the highest amount of taxes on minerals, whether it’s coal or iron ore. Can you imagine, we are paying up to 120–130% more than the market price because of premiums from auctions? People have set up huge steel capacities and want at least a certain portion of their raw material secured. And the only major raw material we have in India is iron ore.

Coking coal, the other big raw material, is 100% imported. In fact, most of the industry is importing 80–90%. Maybe 10–20% is sourced domestically — perhaps the Tatas do that — but otherwise, everybody is importing 100%. Limestone, too, is 100% imported. So, iron ore is the only strength India has, and it must be available at attractive prices.

For that, the Indian Steel Association has been making efforts. The Government of India is also very aware and very supportive. They understand that iron ore must be made available, prices must come down, because this is the only raw material we control.

And on top of this, unlike other steel companies worldwide, we in India also build hospitals, universities, schools, roads, townships, and carry out large CSR activities. Not every company does that. So, this 10–12% protection is nothing.

Look at China, just 10% of their production exported is huge, it equals around 75% of our total production. If they export at predatory prices, even a 10% import into India would start determining the price for all domestic production. That is what drove the previous downturn in steel and pushed so many companies into distress — lack of safeguards.

Q. You don’t see the risk of another downturn in steel because of dumping via the ASEAN route or FTAs with countries like Japan and Korea?

A. Yes, that risk exists. Through the ASEAN route or countries with whom we have FTAs — like Indonesia, Japan, Korea — the situation can become unfair. They only want to export to us. They do not import from us because they are very nationalistic.

I remember one time in a meeting someone asked, “How much steel do we import from India?” The person simply laughed — because they import nothing from us. And through Indonesia, certain Chinese companies have invested just so they can export to India without any duty.

That is why safeguard duty is very important. It gives us some level playing field.

Q. You’ve said the US imposing high duties on steel is actually their loss. Could you explain?

A. See, obviously if you increase import duty, Americans will be paying much higher prices for everything. Otherwise, in most things in America, you can get a good deal. People there are very value-conscious — they always want a good deal. But now they will be getting a raw deal.

Because when companies do not face any competition, they become inefficient. And Americans are already paying the highest price for steel in the world. So everything else will also become expensive. Infrastructure they want to build, cars, washing machines, refrigerators — steel goes into all of it.

And I think, because Americans are entrepreneurial and enterprising, in spite of this they will still find ways to do things. But this policy is their loss.

Q. One of the fallout of the Trump tariffs is that India has supposedly moved closer to China. But dumping from China has been a major threat to our steel and other industries. How do you view this?

A. We are very efficient — as efficient as the Chinese. Our plants are very modern, much more modern than the plants in the US.

China is our neighbor. So, if our relations with China are improving, why not? I welcome that. It’s better for us. We are competitive, so we should be close to all our neighbors.

Q. How do you view the Indian economy right now — with questions on private capex, corporate earnings, and overall growth?

A. The Indian economy is amazing. We are now the fourth-largest economy, and soon we will be the third. It is a very vibrant economy. And for such a large economy, there is no other in the world growing at 6%.

This is thanks to the proactive policies of the Government of India, and the enterprising nature of Indians. Indians are very hardworking. Our youth are always coming up with good ideas. Indian entrepreneurs are very enterprising.

Of course, it is a setback for some sectors that were heavily dependent on exports to the US. I don’t want to be insensitive to them. But I’m sure with the support of the government and people, they will find new ways, go in different directions, and continue to make a living.

Q. In 2016–17, the steel industry went through a very difficult period. You literally came back from the brink. How did you navigate that turnaround?

A. I remember each and everything. It was like multiple miracles every day kept us going. Obviously, it was teamwork — everybody in the company worked very hard. But ultimately, God was very kind.

There were many institutions that only wanted to destroy us. Even for a very small technical issue, they were trying to declare us an NPA, whereas we had no default.

Rather than being supportive, rather than being helpful — if you were sick, they wanted to kill you. If you were unwell, they wanted to shoot you. But God was very kind.

Many people in government and in banks were very supportive. It was nothing political. They always came to support. The courts came to our support. Many times, we had outside commitments for which we had given corporate guarantees, and we had the money. But we were not allowed to pay. We had to go to court, and only with court permission could we pay.

We faced many challenges. We realized how certain people, institutions, and officers wanted to destroy us. But we were very resilient, kept working hard, and God was kind. Multiple miracles saved us, and we became stronger and stronger.

Q. Your coal blocks were cancelled. How did you deal with that setback?

A. Yes, our coal blocks were cancelled. It was a big setback. But we appreciated that the Government of India came up with the commercial coal blocks policy. With auctions happening in a fair and transparent manner, we were able to get back our coal blocks — in fact, three times more than before.

So now we have enough coal till the time coal remains relevant. Cases are still going on, but we are confident we did no wrong.

In the last 20 years, our company has contributed more than six lakh crore in terms of economic activity — six lakh crore in turnover, more than 60,000 crore in taxes, more than one lakh crore in investments, and employment for over two lakh families directly or indirectly. We are proud of that contribution to the economy.

Yes, there are still agencies, people and elements who, for their vested interests or out of confusion, want to pursue cases. But I am sure we will come out clean. We have always been an ethical company, following corporate governance. We have complete trust in India’s judiciary.

It was the courts that allowed citizens to respectfully display the national flag when the government opposed it. It was the courts that allowed us to send money abroad and save us from default. There are hundreds of such examples. So we trust the independent judiciary of India, and we will come out clean.

Q. The group has been doing well in recent years. You’ve diversified geographically, entered the Middle East, and invested in green steel. Do you plan to enter newer sectors now that you have the bandwidth?

A. We are focusing on being very disciplined. Coming out of those challenges taught us the importance of focus.

Our objective has been to reduce debt. We want to bring debt down drastically. Going forward, our target is debt not more than 1.5 times our EBITDA. In fact, within the next few years, we want to be net debt positive. We don’t want to carry any debt.

At the same time, we want to produce low-emission steel. For that, we are investing heavily in renewable power, mainly solar, so we can feed renewable power into our plants and drastically reduce emissions.

Within steel itself, there are many opportunities for expansion. Today we are at 9.6 million tonnes of capacity. In FY2026–27, we will commission a new blast furnace, adding 4 million tonnes. Next year we will commission our DRI plant, adding another 2 million tonnes. By then we will be at 15.6 million tonnes.

So the focus is on steel, and also on power. Power has been doing very well. We restructured it — renewables and power are now separate companies. The listed entity is only Jindal Steel, which was earlier Jindal Steel and Power, JSPL.

Q. How do you want Jindal Steel as a brand to be remembered? What should be its legacy?

A. All the Jindal companies have their own legacy, and all are doing well. As far as Jindal Steel is concerned, we want it to be remembered as a very efficient, profitable company that introduced products India had never seen before.

We are proud of many firsts: parallel flange beams in large sizes, high-speed rails, long rails, the world’s longest 120-meter rails, asymmetrical rails, head-hardened rails for high-speed lines.

We have never chased size just for the sake of being the biggest. What we chase is efficiency and quality. Going forward, we want to cut emissions drastically.

Since coking coal is 100% imported, the only way to reduce dependency was through coal gasification. We went into it in the year 2000. In 2022, the Government of India started incentivising coal gasification. Even the Hon’ble Prime Minister has encouraged it, because with gasification we can capture carbon. Hopefully in future we will also find more uses for that CO₂.

So our legacy should be not just steelmaking, but innovation, efficiency, sustainability, and social responsibility. We are the only steel company with two universities: Jindal Global University in Sonipat, India’s number one private university with over 14,000 students, and OP Jindal University in Raigarh, a technical and research-oriented institution. Alongside that, we run schools, hospitals and townships.

We believe wherever we work, we must also contribute to education, healthcare and communities. That is the legacy we want Jindal Steel to be known for.

Q. You also have a very active public life as Member of Parliament. How do you balance business and politics?

A. Parliament takes up a lot of my time. Now, I am the only non-executive Chairman on the board of Jindal Steel, so more than 60% of my time goes into parliamentary duties and constituency work.

My constituency has almost 3 million people — it is a huge responsibility. I want Kurukshetra to really develop in all areas, and I want to do a great job for them.

I also serve on various parliamentary committees. I was on the Income Tax Committee, the Home Committee, and the Defence Consultative Committee. In addition, I have been putting strong emphasis on skill development.

Q. You’ve spoken often about skilling. What does that mean for your constituency and for Jindal Steel?

A. We are setting up skill development centres both in my constituency and at all our plants. Because a skilled youth has plenty of options. If someone only has a degree from a third-class university or college that doesn’t really teach anything, they are not employable.

But if you are skilled, you have many opportunities. Our goal is to create India’s best skilling centres in Chhattisgarh and Haryana, so that others can follow this model. I believe this contribution could be even bigger than building universities.

Many MPs say the job requires attention to very granular requests — things like MPLADS allocations. Are you able to stay personally involved?

Yes. My telephone number is on my website. People from Kerala, UP, Bihar — anywhere — find my number and call me. Many times I speak to them directly. Of course, some demands are ingenuine and nobody can do anything about them. But many are genuine, and I try to help.

In my constituency I have an official house, which also functions like an office. People can come anytime, both there and in my constituency. I meet them regularly. They are like family to me, and I am like a family member to them.

I enjoy meeting them. I learn a lot from them. It gives me energy and keeps me in touch with the ground reality. We get regular feedback from people of all walks of life.

Q. Which do you enjoy more — politics or business?

A. I enjoy both. Whatever I am doing at the time, I enjoy.

I always believed in what Vedanta says — follow Swadharma, not Paradharma. I have always done what I love and loved what I do. So whether I am with people, in Parliament, or talking to you right now, I enjoy it. And when I am in business, my mind works very well — I am very creative, I get many ideas.

I’m not an engineer by education, but I rate myself as a good engineer with an innovative bent of mind. I can think logically about how to improve things.

I also enjoy my sports. When I am riding a horse, the horse doesn’t care if you’re a chairman or an MP. It only cares whether you are a good rider. In life also, your mother only cares whether you are a good child, your wife only respects a good husband, and kids only respect a good father. We all play different roles at different times, and you must try to be the best you can in each role.

Q. Your children, Venkatesh and Yashasvini, are also taking more responsibility. How do you see their roles?

A. Venkatesh is 29 and is now reaching that stage where he will actively shoulder more responsibility. He is involved in the steel business.

My daughter looks after the energy and power business. Both of them are very active in business now. That also gives me more time for Parliament, for social work, and for sports.

Q. What guiding mantra do you give them?

A. Children learn by example. People don’t do what you say, they do what you do. We try to set the right example.

They are good kids, and children today are smarter than their parents. I hope they do well.

Q. Would you want to become a minister at some stage?

A. It’s not something I aspire to. I am very busy, and I try to do whatever I can in the responsibilities given to me. It depends on whatever way the party wants to use me.

Q. Your other family members are also in steel. Is there any arrangement regarding competition among you?

A. There is no arrangement. We are fiercely competitive. You will see us bidding for the same mines, selling in the same regions, undercutting each other. We realise very well that it is survival of the fittest.

Yes, we have a lot of love and respect among family members, but in business we compete fiercely and respect that. Nobody objects. People sometimes say, “This company has done this, so you should too.” Who’s stopping us? We can’t stop others, so why not us?

Steel is a very competitive industry. If I can’t compete against my own family, how will I compete against China or other countries?

Q. What is your ambition for Jindal Steel over the next five to seven years?

A. I have made it clear: we do not have the ambition of being the largest steel company in India. We want to be the most efficient and the most profitable. We used to be, and we still are, a very efficient company. In times to come, we will be the most efficient — that is our objective.

Q. Would you consider listing your renewables or power businesses?

A. We do think about it sometimes. Definitely, we make plans, but we are not sure whether we should pursue it. It is under consideration.

Q. Do you have a family office like many big business families?

A. Not really. Family offices are fashionable, but we don’t have that kind of system. We put all our energy into the company itself.

Jindal Steel is already very widespread and diversified — different steel products, coal mines, iron ore mines, plants. That in itself is very complex and interesting. It keeps us fully engaged. Later, whatever the children want to do, that will be their calling.

Q. Among your three main businesses — steel, renewables and power — which is the priority?

A. Renewables, we are just starting. We want to have around 4,000 megawatts of renewables. We also want to invest in nuclear. Now that the government has opened nuclear to the private sector, we are very keen, because nuclear is sustainable, has no emissions, and nowadays is very safe.

In steel, we plan to go to 30 million tonnes by 2030, but only if we can tie up raw materials. We will not expand just for capacity’s sake. We want to go in a conservative manner — without increasing debt, and securing raw materials.

For coking coal, we depend largely on Mozambique and Australia. We have our own mine in Mozambique. About 50% comes from there, and 50% mostly from Australia.

Q. On iron ore — the Supreme Court once capped production in Karnataka and Goa. What are your thoughts now?

A. Iron ore will be required for the next 25–30 years. After that, most steel will be recycled. We have produced so much already that future demand will be largely met by recycling. But until then, for India to develop and create wealth, we must use our resources — iron ore, limestone, coal and many other minerals.

Iron ore is India’s biggest raw material strength. The rest we mostly import. So iron ore must be made available. The Indian Steel Association has been advocating this, and the Government of India is very supportive. They want prices reduced and availability doubled, so we can both consume more and export more.

Q. Seven or eight years ago, you spoke about hostile attitudes among government officials. Has the business environment improved?

A. Things have improved. When you are doing well, you don’t notice the problems. You notice them only when you are struggling — then you see who supports you.

Now banks want to offer us debt. We don’t want any. They say, “No, you must grow, you must expand.” I smile and say, we will do it slowly but surely, without debt.

Whatever we have achieved is thanks to thousands of people — including many in government — who wished us well. Of course, there are always a few who are negative, but that is part of life.

Q. Do you want to name those who tried to hurt your company?

A. No. Most of them are irrelevant today. These things happened long ago. Many of them are close to retirement.

I believe in the law of karma. People who do bad to others, karma takes care of them. If you continue on your path of righteousness and do the right things, karma takes care of you.

By God’s grace, our company is now three or four times stronger than before. We are grateful to God, to the country, to the state governments we work in, to the central government. Under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi, things are getting better.

We hope to see India as the third-largest economy very soon, a developed country by 2047, a self-reliant country. Make in India, Atmanirbhar Bharat — these are very inspiring. With a conducive environment where Indians help Indians, everyone can grow. Together we can make India the country of our dreams.