Calcutta: Tata Steel plans to "double down" capacity in India after stitching the "historic" deal with Thyssenkrupp to park its European business in an equal joint venture.

After formally signing an agreement with Thyssenkrupp CEO Heinrich Hiesinger in Brussels, N. Chandrasekaran, chairman of Tata Sons, the promoter of Tata Steel, said the deal would help the company create robust businesses both in Europe and India.

"We are structurally strong in India, which offers tremendous opportunities as a growing market. This JV creates an opportunity for us to create a good, strong and sustainable footprint in both geographies," Chandrasekaran said.

Addressing the media at the picturesque Bibliotheque Solvay in the heart of Brussels, the headquarters of the European Union, the chairman of the salt-to-software Tata Group said Tata Steel would "double down" capacity in India from the present level of 13 million tonnes.

"For Tata, this marks a significant milestone in the history of Tata Steel and Tata Group. It strengthens and provides scale to our European operations, creates a strong steel enterprise and helps the Indian operations to grow and address the needs of the Indian market," he told reporters.

The Thyssenkrupp deal, which is subject to clearance from the European Union, will shift about Rs 20,000 crore debt from Tata Steel's consolidated balance sheet, saving Rs 1,000 crore in interest outgo a year, Koushik Chatterjee, executive director and chief financial officer of Tata Steel, had told The Telegraph on Sunday, explaining the structural deleverage of the company.

This is expected to free up cash flow for the group, which may be used to rapidly scale up operations in India, analysts said.