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CHAIRMAN's DESK

" ...The Minister was, very categorical that steel should be made available to the small consumers at reasonable prices without the intervention of middle men.... " Soon after assuming charge of his office, Shri Ram Vilas Paswan, Hon'ble Minister for Steel, Chemicals & Fertilizers categorically clarified that the Government would protect the interests of the small consumers to the extent possible. Exports of iron and steel products should only take place after the domestic requirements have been fully met. The small consumers and SSI units should get their full requirement of steel material through the SSI Corporations, NSCI or Associations of SSI units. Priority should also be given to supply of steel to Government Departments/public sector units such as NTPC, NHPC etc. The balance steel, after meeting the above requirements, can then be offered to trade. The Minister was, very categorical that steel should be made available to the small consumers at reasonable prices without the intervention of middle men. During the Steel Consumer Council meeting held on 12th June, 2004, there was considerable agitation regarding high prices of steel. In fact, for quite some time now, high prices of steel products remains a dominant issue in the minds of the consumers. The Government had responded during February-March, 2004 by way of reduction of import duties and suspension of DEPB benefits on exports so as to ensure greater availability in the domestic market. It is premature to say how far these measures have really succeeded and we may have to wait for the second quarter of this year to ascertain the full results of these measures. Nevertheless, of late there are positive signals of a softening of market prices primarily due to slackening of demand from China. It is any body's guess whether this softening will be sustained in the near future. It gives me great pleasure to present this month's issue of the JPC Bulletin. We have initiated steps to see how this Magazine can be made more informative and interesting for the steel fraternity. ( J P Singh Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel & Chairman, JPC) (This is excerpted from JPC Bulletin May' 04)