PANAJI: Union minister for steel, chemicals and fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan on Tuesday called for a ban on high-grade iron ore export to help
the cause of the country’s dwindling steel industry.
The move is aimed at promoting domestic steel consumption and ensuring that ore is used to cater to local demand first, and only the surplus is exported. “If this export continues, we will soon be forced to import iron ore and steel from other countries,” he said.
The minister was speaking after attending the fifth advisory committee meeting of chemicals and fertilisers in Goa. Expressing hope that the government would shortly take a balanced decision on the issue in the national interest, Mr Paswan said iron ore, a natural resource, should be preserved.
“Of the total reserves of 25 billion tonne, that India has, a very small quantity makes for high-grade ore which cannot be exported on a large-scale,” he said, while pinning his hopes for a ‘drastic’ hike in the export duty of iron ore which will act as a export barrier. Currently, the export duty for iron ore has been reduced from 15% to only 5% for high-grade iron ore. “We have already increased import duty on steel from 5-10%, apart from a complete waiver on export duty. This will give a boost to domestic production,” said the minister.
Commenting on the steel industry in India, Mr Paswan reiterated that it was well-positioned to reach its production target of 125 million tonne by 2020. For this, the government has also increased fund allocation from Rs 59,000 crore to nearly Rs 80,000 crore. According to him, to boost infrastructure development, the government is also planning to set up a Rs 1,000-crore revolving fund to assist infrastructure firms in India.
The minister also revealed that the government planned to develop more petrochemical refineries even as the global meltdown has resulted in an unprecedented reduction in demand for petroleum products.
Source : The Economic Times