Q1. Which roles gave you direct accountability for product mix, customer acceptance, or margins in special steels, and at what decision scale?

As a Head of Sales & Marketing, you are primarily responsible for the Company's Top line & Bottom line. Multiple complex factors, such as Product Mix, Market Pricing, Internal Efficiencies & Costing, Purchasing Power, etc., drive it.
Overall strategic pricing & hence profitability decisions are generally initiated at the apex level, comprising the MD, CFO, COO & Purchase Head, with the discussion led by the Head of Marketing during Annual Budget finalization.
Pricing decisions are distributed across the hierarchy depending on the volume of sales orders. The higher the volume involved in long-term commitments, the more authorities are involved. Smaller & spot business decisions are delegated at the Marketing functional level.

Q2. How is demand for special steels evolving across automotive, EVs, railways, and capital goods—and which application is redefining the market today?

The Automotive Sector has an almost 7% share of the total Indian Economy. With rapidly developing infrastructure, roads, smart cities & availability of easy loans, the Automotive sector is likely to grow at a 6-7% CAGR by 2030.
With a rapidly expanding network of charging stations & with battery manufacturing in India, electric vehicles are becoming more attractive. Electric passenger vehicles are expected to grow at a CAGR of more than 30% by 2030. 
With a reach of more than 90,000 km, Indian Railways is more focused on passenger travel. With an ambitious " National Rail Plan ", the Government has planned to add 40,000 kms of reach by 2030. A lot of modernization is making high-speed long-distance trains & Vande Bharat trains very popular.
With firm Government support - policies like Make in India, Production Linked Incentive scheme, increasing infrastructure & power needs, the capital goods sector is looking forward to a smart CAGR growth of more than 10 % by 2030.
Steel, a crucial element across all sectors, accounts for 2% of India's total GDP. With all industries growing rapidly, as explained above, the alloy steel SBQ market is projected to grow at a 7% CAGR by 2030.
Steel required in non-traditional sectors such as electric vehicles, renewable energy, and aerospace & defense will drive growth for the SBQ industry. 

Q3. Where do Indian special steel producers still face a capability gap compared to global peers—and where have we quietly caught up?

Global steel manufacturing practices have generally advanced in AI & digitalization [IOT & Industry 4.0]. Most operations are being automated, along with online data capture. 
Nano Technology usage is on the rise to produce high-strength, durable, & corrosion-resistant materials, enhanced by nanosurface coating techniques. 
3-D Printing is in demand for manufacturing complex shapes. 
On the steelmaking side, hydrogen-based DRI is fast replacing coking coal, especially in the EAF. Also, carbon capture is the latest in the arena.
With the premier leaders of the Indian steel industry, most of the global best practices mentioned above are in use.However, across the entire steel sector, we have significant scope to catch up.

Q4. How do you see customer willingness to pay evolving for low-carbon or green special steels?

Low-carbon/green special steels are produced via the EAF route. With scrap recycling, renewable energy, & hydrogen based reductions, these steels have significantly lower emissions than the primary steel manufacturing route.
Especially, EU zone customers are aggressive, & low-C green steels can meet the CBAM [carbon border adjustment mechanism] reporting requirement for embedded carbon.
For very high-end special steel applications, customers are considering offering premiums. However, in regular applications, the fundamental pricing gap arising from the manufacturing route prevents a premium from being applied to green steels. 

Q5. What ESG metric do you believe will become non-negotiable for special steel suppliers in the next few years?

Like ISO 9001/IATF 16949 QMS certifications, ISO 14001, ISO 45001 & ISO 50001 will become a minimum requirement for any business. In addition, declaring emissions [at least Scope I & II] via GRI reporting, along with a long-term action plan for reduction or neutralization, will be considered.

Q6. How should special steel manufacturers think about Scope 3 emissions when customers control end-use applications?

Scope III emissions are significant. For reduction, various activities can be initiated.
On the upstream side, the company can create a map of its entire supply chain & work aggressively to identify alternate sources for Scope III reductions. Wherever possible, we must consider online virtual meetings instead of air travel. Companies can motivate employees to use electric vehicles for their daily commute. Can invest in sophisticated AI tools for online tracking of emission reductions.
On the downstream side, the company can create a geographical map of & work towards logistics rationalization. Avoiding premium freight situations & consider rail transport wherever possible.
Logistics rationalization can also be extended from the supply chain to the customer end. The identical vehicles can travel on the road for supply chain & customer shipments in a circular manner.

Q7. If you were allocating capital to a special steel business today, what overlooked question would you ask management—and what answer would worry you?

An investor in a steel business must first look into the basic manufacturing route, whether primary or secondary.
A captive-integrated raw material supply or captive-integrated customer is a distinct advantage. 
Too much reliance on the global supply chain or on exports can pose a risk in today's volatile environment, while the domestic market remains stable.
In the fast-changing world, what is a company's 5-year business plan covering, renewable energy investments, technology upgradation plans, to be able to remain competitive? Also, it must be determined whether the company has a 5-year cost-reduction plan.
It is essential to recognize the skill & competency level of the operating team, especially the steel melting, rolling & QA teams. Also, steel being a highly labour-intensive operation, the local union & political situation must be carefully evaluated. If the senior marketing team, which is the business driver for an organization, is not fully aware of the competition & external market dynamics, and of internal activity-based costing details, etc., this can become a serious concern.
For success, the company's long-term decarbonization plan can address many important business sustainability factors.