Naveen Jindal's Jindal Steel and Power Ltd has made a debt payment of Rs 2,462 crore ahead of its due date as it seeks to become a net debt free company soon. The company said it was part of its long-stated financial strategy of debt reduction and to build a robust balance sheet with the optimal capital mix. This particular payment to its term lenders is over and above the annual committed debt reduction that it achieved in fiscal 2021. "The significant debt reduction is part of our long-term financial strategy to create a strong balance sheet," said VR Sharma, Managing Director, JSPL. "In the coming quarters, we intend to further strengthen our balance sheet and become net debt-free shortly." Recently, the company had announced divestment of its thermal power business, both to reduce its debt and cut down its carbon footprint by almost half. The estimated size of that divestment was Rs 12,000 crore. So far, in the last four years, the firm has reduced debt by more than Rs 20,000 crore from a peak of approximately Rs 46,500 crore in the third quarter of FY17 to Rs 25,600 crore in 3Q FY21.