Updated October 2026
Key facts
- 255 iron and steel units are covered, with combined baseline emissions of 358.6 MtCO₂e.
- The baseline year is 2023-24; compliance starts in FY 2026-27.
- India's average emission intensity was 2.54 tCO₂ per tonne of crude steel in 2023-24, against a global average of 1.9.
- 75 sites have targets of 2.2 tCO₂e or lower per tonne of equivalent product.
- The Ministry of Environment published the revised draft in July 2026; an earlier draft came out in June 2025.
How the scheme works
CCTS is an intensity-based market: it limits emissions per tonne of product, not total emissions. Each obligated plant has a target. Plants that do better than their target earn Carbon Credit Certificates they can sell; plants that miss must buy certificates to cover the gap. The Bureau of Energy Efficiency runs the scheme.
What it means for your plant
Most Indian steel capacity runs on coal, in blast furnaces and in coal-based DRI kilns. Replacing part of that coal with biochar, which is biogenic carbon, lowers fossil CO₂ per tonne without new furnaces. Peers are already doing it: Tata Steel at Jamshedpur and SAIL at Rourkela.
Your verifier will ask for evidence: how much biochar you used, its carbon content and where it came from. We supply that data lot by lot. Biochar for steel plants
Questions
Which steel plants are covered by CCTS?
The July 2026 draft covers 255 iron and steel units, including integrated producers such as Tata Steel, JSW Steel, SAIL and ArcelorMittal Nippon Steel India.
What happens if a plant misses its target?
It must buy Carbon Credit Certificates on the Indian carbon market to cover the shortfall. Plants that beat their target earn certificates they can sell.
Is the steel notification final?
Not yet. The July 2026 notification is a revised draft. Check the final gazette notification for your plant's figures.