India’s Process-Steam Demand Rises 57% to 318,853 TPH by FY31

India’s process-steam demand is projected to rise 57% from 203,472 tonnes per hour (TPH) in FY26 to 318,853 TPH in FY31E, implying a 9.4% compound annual growth rate (CAGR). Pharmaceuticals and textiles are forecast to account for 135,310 TPH, or about 55% of demand across the 11 named industries, in FY31E.

How fast is process-steam demand projected to grow?

Process-steam demand is forecast to add 115,381 TPH between FY26 and FY31E. The projection rises from 171,685 TPH in FY24 and 185,697 TPH in FY25 to 203,472 TPH in FY26, before reaching 222,140 TPH in FY27E and 291,673 TPH in FY30E. The suffix “E” denotes an estimate.

The forecast measures process-steam requirements across 11 major industries and an “others” category, rather than installed boiler capacity or fuel consumption. It depends on the sector-specific production and steam-use assumptions applied by Frost & Sullivan, which also links the outlook to expected demand for industrial heating equipment and cites Make in India and the National Manufacturing Policy as initiatives expected to support process boilers and heating equipment.

The annual additions increase in absolute terms over the forecast, from 17,775 TPH in FY26 to 27,180 TPH in FY31E. Sustaining the stated 9.4% CAGR therefore requires the sector forecasts to develop as projected, including a rise in the “others” category from 40,472 TPH in FY26 to 72,113 TPH in FY31E.

Which sectors account for process-steam demand in FY31E?

Pharmaceuticals and textiles are projected to remain the largest named users of process steam in FY31E. Pharmaceuticals are forecast at 75,810 TPH and textiles at 59,500 TPH, together representing 135,310 TPH of the 246,740 TPH attributed to the 11 named industries. Their combined share is about 55%, compared with about 53% of named-industry demand in FY26.

Food processing, excluding dairy and rice, is the third-largest named segment at 31,400 TPH in FY31E, followed by distillery at 15,810 TPH, dairy at 14,950 TPH and paper and pulp at 13,550 TPH. These six sectors together account for 210,020 TPH, or about 85% of demand from the 11 named industries in FY31E.

The “others” category is a significant part of the national total, despite not being individually defined in the aggregate table. Its FY31E forecast of 72,113 TPH equals about 23% of 318,853 TPH, while the table labels the category as 18% to 20% of demand. The supplied analysis does not explain the difference between that label and the proportion derived from the published FY31E values.

Why are pharmaceuticals and textiles the main growth drivers?

Pharmaceuticals are expected to make the largest absolute addition among the named sectors, rising by 26,410 TPH from 49,400 TPH in FY26 to 75,810 TPH in FY31E. Steam is used for sterilisation, purification and drying in drug manufacturing, while clean steam supports products such as eye and ear drops and processes involving cell or yeast growth. Most pharmaceutical operations use 1 to 2 bar steam, while some require 5 to 8 bar pressure.

The pharmaceutical estimate applies a consumption norm of about 3 to 3.5 metric tonnes of steam per unit because active pharmaceutical ingredients and bulk drugs have heterogeneous processes. Steam costs are estimated at nearly 6% to 8% of a pharmaceutical unit’s sales revenue, making the forecast dependent on both production volumes and the processes used by drug manufacturers.

Textiles are projected to add 22,900 TPH between FY26 and FY31E, reaching 59,500 TPH from 36,600 TPH. Dyeing, printing, drying and washing use about 4 kilograms of 2 to 5 bar steam for every kilogram of fabric, according to the supplied analysis. The stated FY24-to-FY31E CAGR for textiles is 10.1%, compared with 9.0% for pharmaceuticals.

The textile forecast depends on manufacturing and processing activity following the industry-growth trend used in the estimate. Steam costs are estimated at roughly 2.5% to 4% of fabric sales revenue. The aggregate table shows “2-5-4%” for textiles, but the sector narrative gives the more specific 2.5% to 4% range.

Which smaller sectors are forecast to grow fastest?

Wood has the fastest stated FY24-to-FY31E CAGR among the listed sectors, at 13.4%, followed by dairy at 11.7%, distillery at 10.4% and textiles at 10.1%. Wood demand is projected to more than double from 4,100 TPH in FY24 to 9,860 TPH in FY31E, although it remains below the 15,810 TPH projected for distilleries.

The wood estimate assumes consumption of 0.45 metric tonnes of steam per metric tonne of wood processed and places steam costs at 7% to 8% of wood-product revenue. Steam is used for cleaning, drying moisture, chip cooking, curing, sterilising and packaging, so the forecast relies on the growth of these manufacturing processes rather than furniture-market sales alone.

Dairy demand is forecast to rise from 8,600 TPH in FY26 to 14,950 TPH in FY31E. The analysis estimates use of about 0.12 kilogram of steam for each litre of milk processed, with steam costs of about 0.5% to 1% of dairy-product revenue. India’s milk production increased 3.6% to 247.9 million tonnes in FY25 from 239.3 million tonnes in FY24, and the government’s estimated FY26 production target was 261.7 million tonnes.

Distillery demand is expected to increase from 9,600 TPH in FY26 to 15,810 TPH in FY31E. The supplied norm is 3.4 to 6.6 kilograms of 1.5 to 3.5 bar steam per kilogram of spirit, used for heating, sanitation, sterilisation and pasteurisation. By comparison, urea has the highest stated steam-cost share at 15% to 18% of revenue, but its process-steam demand grows at a lower stated CAGR of 2.7% to 4,450 TPH in FY31E.

What must hold for the FY31E forecast to be realised?

The FY31E forecast requires industrial output to translate into steam consumption at the stated sector norms. Food processing illustrates this condition: each unit is estimated to consume 1.2 to 1.5 TPH of steam, but about 40% of India’s approximately 41,000 food-processing units use minimal or no steam. Food-processing growth therefore does not automatically create equivalent growth in process-steam demand.

Steam intensity also varies substantially across industries. Paper and pulp is estimated to use 1.6 to 2.2 kilograms of steam per kilogram of paper and is forecast to reach 13,550 TPH in FY31E. Tyre manufacturing is estimated at about 2 kilograms per kilogram of rubber processed and 2,230 TPH in FY31E, while chemicals comprising soda ash and ethanol are estimated at 1.5 kilograms per kilogram of product and 6,480 TPH.

The aggregate forecast contains differences from some stand-alone sector exhibits. The pharmaceutical exhibit lists FY26 demand of 42,400 TPH, while the aggregate table uses 49,400 TPH; the food-processing exhibit shows 31,000 TPH in FY31E while the aggregate table states 31,400 TPH. The published national total of 318,853 TPH follows the aggregate table, so the result depends on that table’s figures and the 72,113 TPH “others” category.

Conclusion

India’s process-steam demand forecast points to a larger requirement for industrial heat, with total demand rising from 203,472 TPH in FY26 to 318,853 TPH in FY31E. Pharmaceuticals and textiles deliver the largest absolute additions, while wood, dairy and distillery record the fastest stated growth rates among several smaller named sectors.

The next figures to watch are the FY27E-to-FY31E sector paths, especially pharmaceutical production, textile processing and the expansion of “others” to 72,113 TPH. Future disclosures that reconcile the FY26 pharmaceutical difference of 7,000 TPH and the FY31E food-processing difference of 400 TPH between stand-alone and aggregate exhibits would clarify the basis for the national forecast.