Finance Minister P Chidambaram today asked cement manufacturers to cut prices claiming that a section of them was keen to co-operate with the government in this regard."We have information how much your (cement makers) sales have increased. How much your PBT has increased. How much your PAT has increased. So, you should come forward with some proposals (on moderating cement prices)," Chidambaram told reporters after meeting a delegation of cement companies.The Finance Minister had called cement manufacturers for the second time after the Budget, which imposed dual excise duty structure on cement to rein in prices. The budget hiked excise duty to Rs 600 a tonne from Rs 400 if cement is sold higher than Rs 190 per bag of 50 kg and reduced it to Rs 350 per tonne if sold up to Rs 190. The move, however, failed as cement makers hiked prices by up to Rs 12 per 50 kg bag.Chidambaram asked the industry to co-operate with the government to fight inflation, which has touched 6.46% for the week ended March 3 with cement prices increasing at the rate of 4.4%."I get the impression there are both views in the industry. One is the more sober view that we must help the government control inflation. The other view seems to be more hawkish," he said.Chidambaram said both the government and the industry know how much prices have increased since December 2005. "What were the prices in December 2005, January 2006, June 2006 and December 2006? I told the industry that you have this information. We have this information," he said.Cement manufacturers, however, refused to make any comment. "I don't have any comment to make at this point," Cement Manufacturers Association (CMA) president Manoj Gaur, who led the delegation, said after the meeting.
