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Steel Ministry wants review of policies affecting Indian producers bottom line- The 18th China£¨Guangzhou£©Int¡¯l Sheet metal machinery,Forging, Stamping and Setting Equipment Exhibition
8/17/2016 îÓ½ðÕ¹-¶Íѹչ-sheet metal expo |
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The Hindu reported that even as India has extended curbs on steel imports, the Steel Ministry is pushing for a rethink on domestic policies that are hurting producers. This includes the railways¡¯ freight policy and the clean energy cess that was doubled in this year¡¯s Budget.
The Steel Ministry wants the Indian Railways to change the tariff classification for steel goods and treat them on par with coal, which, it reckons, could cut the logistic costs of moving finished steel by around 14 per cent.
The Ministry, which had opposed the 2.5 per cent import duty on coking coal when it was first introduced in 2014, will continue to seek its abolition, since 90 per cent of India¡¯s coking coal requirements are imported.
Moreover, it has questioned the levy of clean energy cess on coking coal since it is distinct in quality from the coal used in thermal power plants.
The report quoted a senior government official as saying that ¡°While power costs in India are higher than China, Japan or Korea, our steel makers also suffer due to high railway freight. With rates in sea freight becoming very low, major consumers of steel near the coast, prefer to import steel as the cost of reaching finished steel by railways to those areas is higher by about INR1,000 per tonne.¡±
The official added ¡°It makes sense to impose this cess on thermal coal to encourage other less-polluting fuel sources, but coking coal is not only cleaner with lower ash content, but also an essential requirement for steel production with no alternatives.¡±
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The 18th China£¨Guangzhou£©Int¡¯l
Sheet metal machinery,Forging, Stamping and Setting Equipment Exhibition
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