No hike in import duty on steel for now: Govt

Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today said there is no case for a hike in import duty for steel products even as the industry has been demanding a 20 per cent increase from the present 5 per cent.     

"There is no case for increasing import duty on steel products (as of now)," the minister told reporters on the sidelines of the Steel Summit in the national capital.     

He, however, added the government is keeping a close vigil on the situation and would intervene in future if necessary.     

"We are watching the situation very closely. If in future we think that the intervention from the government is necessary, we will think about it," he said.     

Steel imports have declined by 5.3 per cent to 1.41 million tonnes, from 1.49 million tonnes in April-June period of this fiscal over the year-ago period. In June alone imports fell by 23 per cent, the minister added.     

Steel exports went down by a steep 38 per cent to 0.64 million tonnes as against 1 million tonnes in the same period last year, Steel Secretary P K Rastogi added.     

Stressing on value-addition on domestic iron ore in the country to boost domestic production, he said, "rather than exporting the iron ore — vital input for steel making — we should utilise the iron ore in India."

Some countries who have rich iron ore deposits are importing it to conserve their own resources, he discussed. The domestic steel production rose by about 3.4 per cent to 13.98 million tonnes as against 13.5 million tonnes in the year-ago period.     

The country's steel consumption also went up by 5.3 per cent to 12.83 million tonnes in the first quarter of the current fiscal over the year-ago period.     

Rastogi also said the Indian steel consumption will continue to grow at a pace varying between 6-8 per cent during the current financial year, supported by various fiscal, monetary and administrative measures.     

While the government is mulling divestment of its stake in state-run entities, Singh, was non-committal on stake sale in steel PSUs like SAIL, NMDC, RINL.     

"Disinvestment will be decided later," he added.     

With an aim to make four of its PSUs efficient and profitable, a government-appointed committee is studying the case for restructuring and merger of state-run MSTC, FSNL, KIOCL and HSCL. The study will be completed within two months.     

Earlier, appealing the industry to maintain the price line at a level commensurate with the input prices, he said, "I expect the industry to maintain complete transparency on prices."