'Ore scarcity not to affect plans for steel plants'

Union Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan today said a scarcity of iron ore would not be a hurdle in setting up steel plants in the country.

Speaking after a meeting with private players, the minister said steel producers must intimate their requirements, based on their medium and long-term capacity expansion plans.

Assuring international steel giants interested in investing in the country, Paswan said, "If foreign companies like Posco and Mittals come to India and firm up their commitments, there should not be any problem regarding the availability of iron ore."

The Centre would also interact with states and remove any bottlenecks in the way of implementation of projects, the minister added.

The minister also said the Centre was closely watching the proposed capacity expansions in states like Chhattisgarh, Jharkhand, Karnataka and Orissa.

However, for removing any bottlenecks that may arise during the course of implementation, the Centre would "interact with different states", he added.