Report: The Rebar Opportunity

By Lodha Foundation, RMI India Foundation

India is growing fast --- cities are expanding, skylines are rising, and infrastructure is booming. At the core of this massive transformation lies a quiet but critical material: steel rebar. It’s the hidden strength inside nearly every residential tower, highway bridge, and metro line. As India’s urban floor area is set to more than double by 2040, rebar demand is climbing rapidly and with it, the carbon footprint of construction. Steel already accounts for up to 25% of embodied carbon in reinforced concrete buildings. With finished steel use expected to nearly double by 2030, the challenge is clear: India needs more steel, but it must be cleaner.

That’s where The Rebar Opportunity comes in. Released on World Habitat Day by the Honourable Minister of State for Housing & Urban Affairs, in partnership with the Lodha Foundation, RMI India Foundation and BMTPC, this new report spotlights how rebar can lead India’s green steel revolution. It identifies a scalable, ready-now solution: producing rebar using scrap steel and renewable electricity. Unlike technologies that are years away, this approach can slash emissions today. The report lays out a bold but practical roadmap to scale up green rebar, from better scrap collection and energy efficiency to smarter policy and clearer carbon data. If India wants to build sustainably, rebar isn’t just part of the problem, it’s a powerful part of the solution

Read the report here: The Rebar Opportunity