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Metal

Live intelligence for the metal trade

Imported Stainless Coil Now Equals Half of What India's Mills Make. Every Tonne Is Scrap Nobody Melted.

Trade data published on 7 November 2026 shows India's imports of finished stainless flat products rose 33% to 8.69 lakh tonnes in January to August 2026. In the same months, India's own mills cut finished flat output by 9%. Nobody has joined those two numbers to the thing that follows from them, which is that the furnaces buying your stainless scrap have a smaller order book than they did a year ago.

Baled aluminium scrap stacked on pallets in an Indian secondary aluminium recycling plant, with a forklift and a glowing remelt furnace in the background

Government · 26 Oct 2026Editor’s Pick

The last duty standing: why India still taxes your aluminium scrap, and who is fighting to change it

Aluminium scrap is the only major base-metal scrap India still charges an import duty on, after copper, zinc and lead went to nil. Two industry bodies now want that 2.5% changed in opposite directions, and the decision lands at the February 2027 Budget. If you import, trade or remelt aluminium scrap, this fight sets your landed cost for the next year.

Government · 9 Nov 2026Editor’s Pick

India Just Funded the Refineries Your Black Mass Needs. The Written Scheme Says Ores, Not Recycling.

On 4 November 2026 the Union Cabinet put ₹2,814 crore behind four plants that will refine lithium and nickel, the exact step India's battery recyclers have been missing. At the briefing that followed, the minister said the money would take material from mining or recycling alike. The Cabinet's own written order says lithium ores and concentrates. The official note issued the next day is narrower still. If you shred batteries for a living, that gap is the whole story.

Editorial image for India Bought About ₹30,000 Crore of Copper Scrap Last Year, a Quarter of It From the United States. Washington, Brussels and the Gulf Are All Now Moving to Keep That Copper at Home.

Government · 2 Nov 2026Editor’s Pick

India Bought About ₹30,000 Crore of Copper Scrap Last Year, a Quarter of It From the United States. Washington, Brussels and the Gulf Are All Now Moving to Keep That Copper at Home.

India's copper demand hit a record 2,100 thousand tonnes in 2025-26, and its copper scrap imports jumped about 51% to ₹30,353 crore to help feed it. But the three suppliers that send India the most copper scrap, the Gulf, the United States and the European Union, have each taken steps in 2026 to hold that scrap inside their own borders. For copper and brass recyclers, the message is the same from three directions: the imported tonne is getting harder to count on.

Technology · 6 Nov 2026Editor’s Pick

Black Mass Is Not the Finish Line: India's ₹1,500 Crore Scheme Rewards the Metals, Not the Powder

On 9 November 2026, Europe's hazardous-waste code for black mass starts to apply, closing its export for recovery to countries outside the OECD. The US and India have already put gates of their own on the same powder. India's critical mineral recycling scheme pays for the metals that are extracted, not for black mass alone, while payables for the powder sit near the low end of their range for the twelve months to 5 November 2026. Shredding is the half of battery recycling that India has built. Refining is the half that decides who gets paid.

Investment · 24 Aug 2026

Steel & Electric Scrap: Big Demand Coming?

India's plan to grow manufacturing means more business for your metal and electrical scrap.

Investment · 20 Aug 2026

Indian Copper Scrap: Will Rates Go Up Soon?

A big company is investing in copper recycling in Gujarat. This could mean more demand for your copper scrap.

Editorial image for India's Draft Steel Policy Plans for 123 Million Tonnes of Scrap a Year by 2047, Almost All of It Collected at Home. Comments Close on 30 October.

Government · 11 Oct 2026Editor’s Pick

India's Draft Steel Policy Plans for 123 Million Tonnes of Scrap a Year by 2047, Almost All of It Collected at Home. Comments Close on 30 October.

The Ministry of Steel's draft National Steel Policy: Vision 2047 projects ferrous scrap use rising from 36 million tonnes in 2025-26 to 123 million tonnes by 2047-48. Domestic collection has to do almost all the work: it must grow from 28 million tonnes to 111 million tonnes, and the draft proposes a nationwide collection drive modelled on Swachh Bharat to get there. Scrap's share of steelmaking, though, is planned to stay at about 21%. Anyone can send suggestions to the ministry until 30 October 2026.

Metal

Top stories

Imported Stainless Coil Now Equals Half of What India's Mills Make. Every Tonne Is Scrap Nobody Melted.

The last duty standing: why India still taxes your aluminium scrap, and who is fighting to change it

India Just Funded the Refineries Your Black Mass Needs. The Written Scheme Says Ores, Not Recycling.

Policy & regulations

India Bought About ₹30,000 Crore of Copper Scrap Last Year, a Quarter of It From the United States. Washington, Brussels and the Gulf Are All Now Moving to Keep That Copper at Home.

Technology & AI

Black Mass Is Not the Finish Line: India's ₹1,500 Crore Scheme Rewards the Metals, Not the Powder

Market intelligence

Steel & Electric Scrap: Big Demand Coming?

Indian Copper Scrap: Will Rates Go Up Soon?

India Widened the Fast Lane for Imported Metal Scrap on 21 October. Europe Fills a Third of That Lane, and It Is Preparing to Leave.

India's Draft Steel Policy Plans for 123 Million Tonnes of Scrap a Year by 2047, Almost All of It Collected at Home. Comments Close on 30 October.

Metal ebooks

Reading the Scrap Cycle: Copper, Aluminium, Ferrous & Stainless Steel in 2026

Japan's Earthquake: Its Impact on Metal Scrap Imports to India