MUMBAI, Aug. 27 -- For India's steel investors, the number that defined the quarter ending June 30 was not printed in any earnings release. It was published in a government gazette in June, when the Ministry of Steel raised the base customs duty on flat-rolled steel imports from 15 percent to 25 percent.

That single policy decision stabilised domestic hot-rolled coil prices, pushed Chinese imports to a six-quarter low, and effectively secured the EBITDA per tonne across every major Indian mill at levels that had not held since FY24. The Nifty Metal index returned 15 percent year to date through August 27, outperforming the broader Nifty 50 by eight percentage points.

Tata Steel's Indian operations posted EBITDA of approximately Rs 8,900...