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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.
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Beep App launches Gen-Z career platform, clocks 30,000 plus placements
Pune startup turns scrolling into career action with learn-explore-earn model
PUNE: Beep App has rolled out its newly positioned career-focused app aimed at Gen-Z users, as it looks to bridge what it calls a growing gap between exposure and employability among young Indians.
Formerly known as EventBeep, the platform is built around a simple but timely idea: turning everyday scrolling into meaningful career action. The app targets students and early professionals, offering a unified space to explore career options, learn relevant skills and access internships and job opportunities.
At a time when short-form content dominates screen time, Beep is attempting to flip the script by embedding structured, career-oriented insights within a familiar scroll-based interface. The idea is not to disrupt user behaviour, but to redirect it.
The platform spans a wide range of fields, including artificial intelligence, product management, design and data analytics. It provides users with insights into role expectations, required skills and step-by-step career pathways, supported by inputs from industry practitioners.
At the heart of the offering is a “learn, explore, earn” model that integrates discovery, skill-building and hiring into one ecosystem. The company says this closed-loop approach is already gaining traction, with over 30,000 placements facilitated so far.
“Gen-Z does not lack ambition; what they often lack is structured direction,” said Beep App founder and CEO Saurabh Mangrulkar. “The Beep App is designed to organise that exposure into actionable pathways so users can move from intent to execution with greater confidence.”
The launch comes amid a broader shift in India’s job market towards skills-first hiring, where practical experience and demonstrable capabilities are increasingly valued alongside academic qualifications.
Founded in 2021, Beep App has grown steadily within the student ecosystem, connecting over 6.5 million users with opportunities across more than 1,500 colleges and 7,800 hiring companies.
Looking ahead, the company plans to deepen its content across emerging sectors, expand its hiring network and build more personalised career pathways tailored to user behaviour.
As Gen-Z continues to navigate a complex and fast-evolving job market, platforms that can turn curiosity into clarity may well shape the next wave of career discovery.
