The government is meeting leading steel producers next Thursday to take stock of steel production, demand and prices in the country.
Steel Authority of India Ltd Chairman S K Roongta, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd Chairman and Managing Director P K Bishnoi, Tata Steel Managing Director H M Nerurkar, Essar Group Chief Executive Prashant Ruia, JSW Steel Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Sajjan Jindal, Jindal Steel and Power Executive Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Naveen Jindal, Ispat Industries Vice-Chairman and Managing Director Vinod Mittal have been informed by the steel ministry through a letter about the meeting, to be chaired by Steel Secretary Atul Chaturvedi.
The move follows recent statements by Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh, expressing concerns over rising steel prices and a need to relook at the prices.
This is not the first time that the government is intervening in steel pricing. In May 2008, with inflation ruling at around 8 per cent, steel makers gave Prime Minister Manmohan Singh an undertaking that prices would not be hiked for three months, following successive increases and some partial rollbacks at the behest of the steel ministry.
Early 2009, the government expressed its displeasure on rising prices, but steel prices softened soon after on demand-supply mismatch. Prices started increasing from September 2009 and since then, there has been an increase of Rs 6,600 in hot rolled coil (HRC), an intermediate for automobile and consumer durable manufacturers.
However, steel producers squarely blames raw material prices for the spurt in prices.
