Brands
JSW Steel January output slips 2 per cent amid maintenance shutdowns
India plants stay resilient while Ohio shutdown drags consolidated volumes
MUMBAI: JSW Steel’s consolidated crude steel production edged down 2 per cent year on year in January 2026, reflecting planned maintenance shutdowns in India and the United States rather than any slowdown in demand.
The company produced 24.75 lakh tonnes during the month, compared with 25.18 lakh tonnes a year earlier. Indian operations remained steady, delivering 24.58 lakh tonnes, slightly above last year’s 24.52 lakh tonnes, despite ongoing upgrades at the Vijayanagar plant in Karnataka.
Blast Furnace 3 at Vijayanagar, the country’s largest single-location steel facility with a capacity of 17.5 mtpa, has been offline since September 2025 for expansion work. As a result, capacity utilisation at Indian plants stood at 85 per cent; excluding the idled furnace, utilisation rose to a robust 93 per cent.
In contrast, output at JSW’s Ohio facility in the US fell sharply, sliding 74 per cent year on year to 0.17 lakh tonnes. Production was curtailed by a planned caster upgrade shutdown from mid-December 2025 until January 11, 2026.
JSW Steel, the $23 billion flagship of the OP Jindal Group, is pressing ahead with expansion plans. Domestic capacity currently stands at 34.2 mtpa, with global capacity at 35.7 mtpa. The company aims to lift total capacity to 48.9 mtpa over the next four years.
The steelmaker is also doubling down on decarbonisation. Ranked number one globally in the steel sector in the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment 2025, JSW targets a 42 per cent cut in carbon emissions by 2030 and net-zero status by 2050, with a goal to run entirely on renewable energy by the end of the decade.
Brands
Zepto names Saurabh Kabra vice president for non-trade advertising
Former blinkit and ITC executive to drive Zepto’s ad-led growth
BENGALURU: Zepto has elevated Saurabh Kabra to vice president—non-trade advertising, partnerships and catalogue, underscoring the quick-commerce firm’s push to deepen high-margin revenue streams beyond deliveries.
Based in Bengaluru, Kabra will lead the strategic expansion of Zepto’s advertising and partnerships ecosystem. He was previously senior director and head of the non-trade advertising business, where he played a central role in building the company’s ad-led monetisation playbook.
Since joining Zepto, Kabra has worked closely with the chief executive’s office on strategic initiatives, contributing to the company’s rapid scale-up in India’s intensely competitive quick-commerce market. His elevation comes as platforms increasingly court brand advertising to steady margins and diversify revenue.
Before Zepto, Kabra held senior growth roles at Blinkit, serving as associate director of growth and city CEO for Hyderabad, where he led regional expansion and operational scaling.
Earlier in his career, he spent several years at ITC Limited, managing brands such as Classmate and Paperkraft and overseeing sales operations in the personal care business. He is an alumnus of Indian Institute of Management Calcutta.
Industry executives view the appointment as a clear signal that Zepto is sharpening its focus on advertising, partnerships and catalogue-led monetisation: areas increasingly discussed by investors as critical to improving unit economics in quick commerce.
