Government weighs steel import curbs to help domestic producers

The government will take measures to curb the threat of cheap steel imports and dumping and ensure that steel producers complete their ongoing projects in time, minister of state for steel A Sai Prathap said today.

Talking to newsmen after taking charge, the minister said all major steel producers, including public sector giants like Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), are going for capacity expansion.

He said timely completion of ongoing expansion projects in the domestic steel sector, appropriate fiscal measures to curb the threat of cheap imports and raw material security for steel firms will be top priorities.

''A major challenge of the steel ministry is to complete the expansion programme of Steel Authority of India and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited on time'', he said, adding, ''With this, SAIL's production capacity will go up from the present level of around 15 million tonnes per annum to around 26 million tonnes over the next three years.''

While RINL would invest Rs70,000 crore over the next two years to double its capacity from the present level of 3 million tonnes per annum to around 6 million tonnes, he said, NMDC Limited, Hyderabad, also proposes to set up a greenfield integrated steel plant at Chhattisgarh for producing 3 million tonnes of steel per annum.

He said a proposal for RINL to acquire Neelanchal Ispat Nigam Limited, having a 1 million tonne integrated steel plant at Orissa, is also under active consideration of his ministry.

He said operationalisation of the newly set up International Coal Ventures Limited, a joint venture of state-run SAIL, RINL, NMDC, Coal India Limited and NTPC for acquiring coal mines overseas for the use of Indian steel producers, is a key strategic priority.

While most of the steel PSUs are in profit mode, making significant contributions to the government exchequer, the minister said, some of the steel PSUs are in the process of restructuring and merging, in order to derive the benefits of improved synergies. The companies under restructuring/mergers include the Bird Group of companies, Hindustan Steel Construction Ltd (HSCL), Bharat Refectories Limited (BRL) and Sponge Iron India Limited  (SIIL), he said.