Professor Vikram Gandhi’s Immersive Field Course (IFC) “Development while Decarbonizing: India’s Path to Net-Zero" delved into the critical aspect of decarbonization and sustainability goals amid India's rapid development. The course presented an opportunity for students to advance their knowledge of sustainability efforts, decarbonization, and net zero in the context of a broader development agenda. The class culminated in a series of site visits in January 2025 in Mumbai and Bangalore and this is one of 9 student essays that highlights their reflections on uncovering sustainable solutions across the country.
Summary of Field Immersion in India
This winter break, we and a group of 40 students traveled to India as part of an Immersive Field Course exploring decarbonization and the green transition in India. We rang in 2025 with ten action-packed days split evenly between Mumbai and Bangalore. We toured factories, met with executives, visited cultural and historic landmarks, and consumed more chai than we could’ve imagined. The course was designed to give us a 360-degree view of decarbonization efforts across the full spectrum of society, public and private sectors alike. In Mumbai, we visited big conglomerates like Tata Power, JSW Steel, and Hindustan Unilever - companies that are deeply embedded in the Indian economy and have a large role to play in leading the green transition if India is to reach its goal of net zero by 2070. While we got to see modernity, scale, and a glimpse into the future during visits to conglomerates, we also saw crumbling infrastructure, poor sanitation, and lack of access to basic facilities during a visit to the Dharavi slum, a densely packed area housing 1 million residents. This was a powerful reminder that the brunt of climate change will be borne by the poorest, most vulnerable members of society.
Visit to JSW Steel and Decarbonization in the Steel Industry
Our team’s research topic was decarbonization in the steel industry. While still on campus, we had a case discussion on JSW Steel and their decarbonization targets, along with their strategic decisions to balance growth with sustainability. This included exploring pathways such as renewable energy integration, hydrogen-based DRI pilot projects, and carbon capture technologies, while addressing the challenges of financing and market readiness for green steel.
Needless to say, when day four came, we were very excited to visit the JSW Dolvi steel plant. Getting there wasn’t trivial. At 7:40 AM, we left by bus from our hotel to catch a ferry from the Gateway of India, a ceremonial monument constructed to welcome British royalty. After a 45 min ride on the ferry, we drove on the bus for another 30 mins to arrive at the steel plant. We were especially pleased by the preparation and hospitality shown to us. From the moment we entered the building, we were split into groups and directed to a waiting area in which we were served a variety of hot and cold beverages, cookies, and savory Indian snacks. We then assembled in the conference room and met with various senior leaders, including JSW Steel’s Chief Sustainability Officer.
The company shared a presentation on their sustainability initiatives followed by a Q&A session with the students. We learned that JSW Steel is targeting net-zero by 2050, more aggressive than the country’s goal to hit net-zero by 2070. As the first step in its action plan, the company is taking on green initiatives only if they are financially viable. Examples include recovery and reuse of waste heat to power different plant operations, use of byproducts such as slag at JSW cement, and electric vehicle transportation within the plant. While the plant has made great strides in reducing its emissions intensity per ton of steel, its aggregate emissions will continue to rise as the plant expands its production from 10 MT to 15 MT of steel annually to meet the rapidly growing demand for steel in India.
A green initiative that impressed our team and many other students is Project SEED. Rather than pushing the green transition from top down, SEED has made decarbonization the focus of every employee at every department. Individuals were incentivized to voice ideas to reduce CO2 emissions and these ideas would then be discussed in cross-departmental meetings and given the green light for implementation. SEED was impressive not only for its potential to creatively reduce emissions but also for the positive effect it had on employee culture.
After the session with leadership, each of us was given PPE, including steel-toed shoes, ear plugs, safety glasses, hard hats, N95 masks, jean jackets, and radio devices. The students were excited about the stylish JSW-branded jean jackets, which we were allowed to keep!
Our first stop in the tour was the Safety Experience Center. This was a one-of-kind center specifically designed for employees to “safely” experience common safety hazards including confined spaces, failing guardrails, slip, trip, and fall events, unguarded machinery, and others. Afterwards we toured the various parts of the steel production process, mainly the blast furnace in which iron ore, coal, and lime are added to produce liquid iron and the finishing steps that form final steel products like coils and bars. We learned that the blast furnace at Dolvi produces the greatest volume of liquid iron in the world.
The plant’s use of advanced technologies, commitment to safety, and relentless focus on efficiency and quality were at a scale and sophistication we hadn’t quite expected. On top of that, everyone we met at the Dolvi plant was deeply knowledgeable and passionate. Although happy with our visit, we left concerned about the future of decarbonization in the steel industry. While the company’s goals are ambitious, it’s unlikely that they will translate to necessary actions to reduce emissions without drastic policy interventions. The government is unwilling to introduce green steel policies, fearing that they will wipe out small and medium sized steel producers, which employ more workers than the large players. Until the government takes decisive action, the large steel producers will continue investing on only the financially viable projects, which in the current state will not move the needle in decarbonizing the steel industry in India.
