Under fire, steel firms scrap lobby

2001 - Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) constituted

2004 - Tata Steel quits ISA, cuts prices
            unilaterally

2008 - May 4 - SAIL quits ISA
           May 5 - Decision to dissolve ISA

 Last month, Finance Minister P Chidambaram accused steel companies of acting as a cartel after rising prices of the commodity pushed the inflation rate to above 7 per cent.  In its defence, the alliance had said that the rise in prices was caused by the sharp hike in raw material prices. "As against the increase of 100 to 300 per cent in the prices of raw material used for steel making, the price of steel in India has increased 24 per cent in the last one year," it had said.  Another member said some members had written letters last week to ISA President Moosa Raza expressing their views on the alliance's role and its effectiveness as a representative industry body. Raza could not be reached for comment.  Some members also felt that ISA does not represent the interests of the entire steel industry, especially the secondary producers of long products used in construction.  The steel industry now wants to play safe and, therefore, plans to fight its cause of promoting steel usage, which was one of the primary objectives for setting up ISA, through the Institute for Steel Development & Growth. This institute is promoted by the ministry of steel, SAIL, Tata Steel, JSW Steel, RINL, Essar Steel and Ispat Industries.