Steel Minister Ram Vilas Paswan on Wednesday said the government may impose five per cent import duty on cheaper shipments and scrap exports levy of up to 15 per cent as demanded by industry majors like Tata and SAIL.

Corus would cut crude steel production by 20 per cent following fears of softening in the demand of steel. Corus is UK subsidiary of Tata Steel. It would reduce steel production by one million tonnes over three years. However, it would not reduce production outside Europe.

JSW Steel, India’s third largest steelmaker has postponed the initial public offering (IPO) for its power unit due to unstable market condition.

An interest has been shown by the world’s two leading steel companies Luxembourg-based ArcelorMittal and India’s Tata Steel, in mining coal in partnership with Coal India Ltd from the latter’s 18 forsaken underground mines with the aim to secure reserves of coking coal, a key input needed to make steel. 

In less than six months, the price of the coking coal in international market has more than doubled to $300-350 per tonne, and this has motivated the steelmakers worldwide to scout for reserves across the globe.