Karnataka Industries Minister R V Deshpande today called on Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh and demanded sufficient supply of raw material from the country's top iron ore producer NMDC Ltd to sponge iron units in the state.
Presently, small and medium scale sponge iron units in the state are struggling to survive in the absence of enough supply of raw material. They have also been hit by high power rate and lower prices of finished goods, he said.
"More then 75 per cent of the sponge iron units are shut down due to non-availability of raw material. The issue was discussed in detail with the Steel Minister," Deshpande told reporters after the meeting.
The NMDC has the capacity to produce low grade iron ore required for sponge iron makers. The local units need to be protected, he said.
"I have asked the Steel Minister to take steps to ensure NMDC Ltd supplies sufficient quantity of iron ore to sponge iron units," he added.
At present, the NMDC has annual iron ore production capacity of about 30 million tonnes from 3 fully mechanised mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. It's main focus is to produce top grade iron ore.
During the day, the Karnataka Minister met other central ministers Commerce Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Environment Minister Anil Dave.
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