India's Ministry of Steel stated on March 26 that the second phase of the Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme led by it has received the commitment for Rs 17,000 crore investment, in order to expand the country's speciality steel production capacity.

First launched in 2021, the PLI Scheme provides financial incentives ranging from 3% to 4% for the production of speciality steels in five categories and 19 sub-categories to encourage investment in new capacity.

In the first round of applications, a total of 44 applications were submitted by 23 companies, and one project has received the promised financial incentives. In the second round, there were 25 companies submitting 42 applications, and the total committed investment amounted to Rs 17,000 crore.

The steel ministry said some of India's high-grade steel still relies on imports, so the PLI Scheme aims to promote self-sufficiency in the domestic steel industry.