Sajjan Jindal, chairman of the country’s largest steel producer, has reiterated the company’s ambitious growth plans, while flagging concerns about how rising imports into India are impacting profitability of the local players.“To meet India’s accelerating steel demand, we plan to expand our capacity to 50 million tonnes per annum in India by FY31,” he told shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting on Friday.The steel-maker currently has the capacity to produce 34 million tonne of steel each year in India, and will increase this to 42 million tonne by September 2027. It plans to spend Rs 64,434 crore in capital expenditure in three years, including a spend of Rs 20,000 crore in the current fiscal at a consolidated level.While the demand for steel grew nearly 14% in 2023-24 (Apr-Mar), and is expected to remain healthy backed by the government’s push for spending on infrastructure, the profitability of steel-makers has not been in tandem with this growth.“…global steel demand remains weak, leading to rising imports into India and affecting domestic steelmakers’ margins. This is mainly because of elevated Chinese production and exports, pressuring global steel markets,” he said.The company reported its earnings for the June quarter last week, and its profit plummeted by nearly a third as compared to the previous year. Even after the price cuts taken by steelmakers, imported steel prices continue to remain at a discount.India was a net importer of steel in the previous fiscal, and this trend has continued in the current fiscal as well.“Several countries have raised barriers against steel imports, and the Indian steel industry is engaged with the government to ensure a level playing field,” Jindal said.While growth at a global level is expected to remain stable in 2024 and 2025, geopolitical risks remain high and this could impact commodity and energy prices, he said.The company’s Vijaynagar plant in Karnataka is the country’s largest with a capacity of 12.5 million tonne, and the company plans to make it the largest in the world with a capacity of 24 million tonne. The chairman, though, did not specify a timeline for the same. The security for raw materials and optimising costs would be the strategic priorities for the company, he said. JSW Steel currently has 24 iron ore mines, of which 13 are operational. It is also working on operationalizing 3 coking coal mines in the country, which could give it access to 2 million tonne of coking coal per year.