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Steel Producers
The Competition Commission is probing the alleged cartelisation by steel manufacturers and the investigation report has been shared with the parties concerned to provide their objections and suggestions in accordance with the competition law, the government said on Monday. The corporate affairs ministry also informed the Lok Sabha that the Competition Commission of India (CCI) registered 54 cases related to anti-competitive practices/and received 149 merger (M&A) filings. in 2025. In a written reply, Corporate Affairs Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said CCI has registered a case pertaining to the alleged cartelisation by steel manufacturers pursuant to the directions of the Madras High Court. After investigation, CCI's Director General (DG) submitted the investigation report, which has been shared with the parties with directions to file their objections/suggestions in accordance with the provisions of the Competition Act, 2002. "The matter is presently under inquiry before the ...
Shree Cements expects a strong rebound in cement volumes in the fourth quarter of the current financial year, aided by a pick-up in infrastructure activity and higher government spending towards the fiscal year-end, the management said in a Q3 analyst concall. The company is targeting sales volumes of 9-9.5 million tonnes in the January-March quarter. It noted that the Centre's push to utilise infrastructure allocations by March 31 is likely to support demand. While pricing remained a focus in the earlier part of the year, the company is now looking to ramp up capacity utilisation as volumes improve, an official said. Separately, Shree Cements outlined an aggressive expansion plan for its ready-mix concrete (RMC) business, with the company aiming to scale up its RMC footprint to 45 plants from the current 19 units over the next six to eight months. The management said the RMC push is part of a broader strategy to move up the construction value chain, adding that around 45 per cent
The government's decision to impose safeguard duty on select steel products will provide a protective cushion for local producers and protect downstream supply chain producers, said experts. The government has extended safeguard duties on imports of certain steel products for three years. The safeguard duty will be levied at 12 per cent in the first year (April 21, 2025 to April 20, 2026), reduced to 11.5 per cent in the second year (April 21, 2026 to April 20, 2027), and further lowered to 11 per cent in the third year (April 21, 2027 to April 20, 2028). Ranjeet Mehta, Secretary General, PHDCCI, said India's safeguard duty on steel imports aims to balance the domestic market by reducing pressure from low-cost foreign steel. It provides a protective cushion for local producers and, at the same time, protects downstream supply chain producers. The duties, first imposed as a temporary 12 per cent levy for 200 days in April, will now remain in force until April 2028, according to an .
The government will continue to prioritise higher steel production and raw material security in the coming year, as India enters the final five years of its journey towards achieving an installed steelmaking capacity of 300 million tonne (MT) by 2030. Alongside capacity expansion, the emphasis will remain on the adoption of low-carbon technologies, the development of green steel capacity and the production of special and high-end steel grades to meet the evolving needs of domestic industries and export markets, a steel ministry official said. The push comes at a time when India is the world's second-largest crude steel producer, and steel demand continues to be supported by strong infrastructure spending, housing, railways, automobiles, defence manufacturing and capital goods under government initiatives such as PM Gati Shakti, National Infrastructure Pipeline, and Make in India. However, the industry is also bracing for continued challenges in 2025, including rising imports, volati