Steel ind for sops to infra sector in Interim Budget

Hit by a slump in demand, the steel industry wants the government to come out with schemes for the infrastructure sector in its interim budget tomorrow that would lead to higher consumption of the commodity.

"Real boost should be given to the infrastructure sector, which would in turn spur demand for steel in the economy," SAIL Chairman Sushil Kumar Roongta said.

The government has already come out with multi-billion dollar packages twice in as many months to stimulate demand in the economy facing recessionary blues.

"Interest rates to the borrower must come down to single digit. If that happens, things will become easier (in the economy) and steel demand would surge," JSW Steel MD Sajjan Jindal said.

Besides, seeking sops for the infrastructure sector, the steel industry wants the government to increase the import duty on the commodity up to 15 per cent as recommended by the Steel Ministry to protect producers against cheap dumping.

"The government should impose 15 per cent import duty soon on steel to protect the domestic industry," Jindal said, adding the move would "personally help" his company, which has undertaken capacity expansion.

Faced with a slump in demand and falling prices amid the global industrial downturn, steel behemoths like SAIL and Tata Steel witnessed steep decline in their profits while others like JSW Steel and Ispat reported losses for the third quarter of the current fiscal.

After touching a peak of $1,150-1,250 a tonne last year, steel prices have almost halved at present to about $550 per tonne primarily on account of waning demand from sectors like construction, automobile and consumer durables.