Business
Indian stainless steel sector drowning in Chinese imports
The first half of 2021-22 has seen a 185 per cent increase in stainless steel imports compared to the average monthly imports in the last fiscal, creating havoc for the Indian players.
The import tide of stainless steel from China and Indonesia is fast turning into a deluge destroying many companies on its way, and threatening the very existence of the small, medium and micro industries in India. After all, the first half of 2021-22 witnessed a staggering 185% increase in import volumes of stainless steel flat products compared to the average monthly imports in the last fiscal, fuelled mostly by surge in Chinese and Indonesian imports.
The two countries China and Indonesia, which increased their exports by 300 per cent and 339 per cent, respectively, in the first half of this fiscal compared to the average monthly imports of the last fiscal, now have a share of 79 per cent of the total stainless steel flat product imports in the first half of FY22. It is a significant jump compared to the 44 per cent share in FY21. The average per month imports has jumped from 34,105 tonnes per month in FY21 to 63,154 tonnes per month this current fiscal–FY 22.
Indonesia’s imports share, which was virtually non-existent in 2016-17, has climbed to 23 per cent in the first half of this fiscal, with its average monthly exports increasing from 4,355 tonnes/month in the last fiscal to 14,766 tonnes/month in the first half of this fiscal. China’s average monthly exports too has jumped from 10,697 tonnes/month in the last fiscal to 35,269 tonnes/month in the first half of this fiscal.
The surge in imports was the result of the Finance Ministry’s decision of September 30, 2021 to revoke the imposition of CVD on China (September 2017) and end provisional duties on Indonesia (October 2020), which was based on the recommendations of the Director-General of Trade Remedies (DGTR), after a detailed investigation. The investigation had revealed that the two countries were resorting to non-WTO compliant subsidies to boost their exports to India and causing injury to Indian manufacturers.
In fact, the DGTR and their global counterparts had conclusively proved in its final finding that both these countries provide non-WTO compliant subsidies to the tune of 20 per cent to 30 per cent to their stainless steel manufacturers. And, these subsidies have created an imbalance in the Indian and international markets, reduced the competitiveness of Indian products in the domestic industry, causing material injury and persistent financial stress for home-grown businesses. It has forced the domestic industry to seek redressal from the surge in imports.
In fact, in India a disaggregated study of imported products in the first half of the current fiscal also reveals how excessive dumping has taken place in a particular J3 grade of stainless steel in the country. Imports of J3, a subsidised and dumped 200 series grade of stainless steel, with about 1 per cent nickel and 13 per cent chromium from China, has jumped from an average of 1,779 tonnes/month in 2019 to an average of 4,425 tonnes/month in 20-21 (249 per cent increase) and to average 25,346 tonnes to in just six months of 2021-22 (1,424 per cent) increase compared to the same period last year.
The share of this grade in total imports from China increased 23 per cent in 2019-20 to 72 per cent in 2021-22. Much of this import is even below the scrap prices and it hurts the MSME sector, the hardest. Such dumping also means major losses in terms of national exchequer through tax evasion and revenue losses.
This onslaught of Chinese exports to India has decimated the micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME), which had to bear the brunt of the impact. In fact, the imposition of provisional CVD on Indonesia in October 2020 and CVD on China in place from September 2017, had provided a “level-playing field” to these players, which got a much-needed relief from the dumped subsidised imports. The MSME, an industry having the capacity to produce about 1.2 lakh tonnes of hot and cold-rolled flat products, was able to operate at 90 per cent plus capacity utilization between October 2020 to February 2021.
However, the MSME sector suddenly finds itself grasping for breath to survive after the announcements of the 2021-22 Budget. Small-scale stainless- steel rollers and re-rollers, who make ingots from recyclable scrap as the first step in stainless- steel product manufacturing, and then produce hot and cold rolled materials for the all-India market, find themselves swamped by a massive and subsidised surge of imports from China and Indonesia.
Today, more than 80 induction furnaces and 500 patti/patta units, which provides primary raw materials for various downstream industries, are in dire straits. These downstream industries manufacture a variety of stainless steel household goods such as kitchenware, tableware, cooking range, sanitary items, cutlery pots, etc.
Prakash Jain, President, All India Stainless Steel Cold Roller Association, says: “The smaller Indian stainless steel players finds it virtually impossible to compete with the state-subsidised Chinese players, who get an 18 per cent incentive to export, under invoice their products by changing the label of the products to avoid paying duties and sell it at Rs 15 to Rs 17 per tonne cheaper in the Indian market.”
According to Jain, Gujarat has 70 rolling mills, each employing around 300 people and 50 induction furnaces, which makes ingots, the raw material for rolling mills and employs 500 each.
Not only will many of these jobs be lost resulting in massive unemployment but force many manufacturers to turn traders unless the CVD is imposed on imports from China and Indonesia.
New Delhi, July 31: Passengers travelling by train can now book and pay for excess luggage online while reserving their tickets, as Indian Railways on Friday rolled out a new digital facility aimed at making the travel process more convenient.
The service integrates excess luggage booking with the online ticket reservation system, eliminating the need for passengers to visit parcel offices separately before boarding.
Previously, travellers carrying baggage beyond the free allowance had to complete a separate booking process at railway parcel counters, often leading to additional paperwork and long queues.
The online excess luggage booking facility is available only to passengers holding confirmed tickets and is restricted to travel classes where carrying luggage beyond the free allowance is permitted upon payment of the prescribed charges.
Passengers travelling in AC First Class, AC 2-Tier, First Class, Sleeper Class and Second Class can avail of the service.
However, those travelling in AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car will not be eligible, as the maximum permissible baggage limit in these classes is the same as the free luggage allowance.
Under the existing baggage rules, AC First Class passengers are entitled to carry up to 70 kg free of charge and can carry a maximum of 150 kg after paying excess luggage charges.
Passengers in AC 2-Tier and First Class are allowed 50 kg free, with a maximum permissible limit of 100 kg.
Sleeper Class passengers can carry 40 kg free and up to 80 kg in total, while Second Class passengers have a free allowance of 35 kg and a maximum limit of 70 kg.
In contrast, AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car passengers can carry up to 40 kg, which also serves as the maximum permissible limit.
Indian Railways has clarified that passengers carrying baggage beyond the free allowance but within the prescribed maximum limits will be required to pay applicable excess luggage charges.
Apart from weight restrictions, the Railways also enforces size limits for luggage carried inside passenger coaches.
Trunks, suitcases and boxes measuring up to 100 cm × 60 cm × 25 cm are generally permitted inside compartments.
However, passengers travelling in AC 3-Tier and AC Chair Car coaches must adhere to a smaller size limit of 55 cm × 45 cm × 22.5 cm.
New Delhi, July 31: IBM and homegrown AI startup Sarvam have partnered to accelerate the development and adoption of sovereign artificial intelligence (AI) technologies in India, with a focus on government agencies, public sector organisations and regulated enterprises, according to a statement on Friday.
Under the partnership, the two companies will jointly demonstrate and pilot sovereign AI technologies for use cases such as citizen services, grievance redressal, document processing and administrative workflows.
The collaboration combines IBM Sovereign Core, the company’s sovereign-by-design AI software platform, with Sarvam’s India-first sovereign AI stack, which includes reasoning models and multilingual language and voice AI developed and trained in India.
The combined offering is designed to help organisations deploy AI while maintaining greater control over data, governance, security and compliance in line with India’s regulatory and operational requirements.
In addition, the initiative aims to accelerate sovereign AI adoption through innovation pilots, solution accelerators, technical advisory services and knowledge-sharing programmes.
The IBM GovTech AI Innovation Center in Lucknow will serve as a joint incubation and demonstration hub where government departments, public sector organisations and enterprises can evaluate practical sovereign AI applications and address technical, operational and governance requirements before scaling deployments.
“Sovereign AI is not simply about where AI runs. It is about giving organisations control over how AI is governed, deployed and operated,” said Sriram Raghavan, General Manager, IBM Software, India and Software Innovation Lab.
He said IBM Sovereign Core provides an enterprise-grade platform designed to help governments and regulated enterprises scale AI while addressing governance, security and compliance requirements.
Pratyush Kumar, Co-Founder of Sarvam, said sovereign AI must work within the systems governments and enterprises already rely on while supporting large-scale operations.
“Our stack puts models, voice and language technologies on top of it, so a citizen can access a benefit or resolve a grievance in their own language, on a phone call,” Kumar said.
Mumbai, July 30: Domestic equity benchmarks opened on a subdued note on Thursday amid mixed global cues, as gains in information technology and pharma stocks were offset by weakness in banking and realty shares.
Sensex opened at 77,638.86, down 15.74 points or 0.02 per cent, while Nifty opened at 24,249.55, lower by 0.65 points.
Among the sectoral indices, Nifty IT was the top gainer, rising 1.39 per cent, followed by Nifty Pharma, Nifty Healthcare, Nifty MidSmall IT & Telecom, and Nifty Auto, which gained up to 0.54 per cent.
In contrast, Nifty Realty declined 0.80 per cent, followed by Nifty Chemicals, which was down 0.45 per cent, while Nifty Private Bank fell 0.42 per cent.
According to market experts, the Indian market continues to indicate a potential breakout trend, although several global headwinds are limiting the upside momentum.
“The spike in Brent crude prices to near $90 following the escalation of the US-Iran conflict is a strong headwind for markets,” they said.
Experts noted that the US Federal Reserve’s decision to keep interest rates unchanged, though widely expected, turned out to be negative for equities as the decision was split 9-3, with three members voting for a rate hike to curb inflation.
However, they believe the Indian market could remain relatively resilient.
Weakness in global chip stocks has prompted foreign portfolio investors (FPIs) to shift allocations, with FPIs turning net buyers in Indian equities so far in July.
Brent crude — the international oil benchmark — declined 1.75 per cent to $89.15 per barrel, while US West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude fell 1.47 per cent to $83.21 per barrel.
Asian stocks traded mixed. Major indices such as the Nikkei, Hang Seng, and KOSPI were up 0.72 per cent, down 0.02 per cent, and lower by 0.57 per cent, respectively.
US stocks ended lower, with the S&P 500 declining 1.52 per cent, while the Nasdaq ended down 1.74 per cent.
Mumbai: 8-year-old’s parents found a clue from a T-shirt, missing child from Jogeshwari handed over to parents safely, a great feat by Mumbai Police
BMC focuses on providing high-quality and comprehensive facilities for tourists: Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide
Married daughters cannot be excluded from compassionate appointments: SC
Bombay High Court: Stay on departmental inquiry against Wankhede, NCB seeks response, action against officer on accused’s complaint is undesirable
‘Are you from the BJP?’: Rahul snaps at scribe over Delhi cops’ families media meet
Assam Police bust drug racket; seize narcotics worth Rs 3 crore
Make ‘Har Ghar Tiranga’ people’s movement again: PM Modi
Egypt coach raises Palestinian flag after his side’s first knockout win at a FIFA WC
Somy Ali on Aamir Khan’s wedding with Gauri: ‘It’s never too late to choose happiness’
77 pc Indian companies see AI reshaping workspaces: Report
-
Crime4 years agoClass 10 student jumps to death in Jaipur
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai Local Train Update: Central Railway’s New Timetable Comes Into Effect; Check Full List Of Revised Timings & Stations
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMumbai To Go Toll-Free Tonight! Maharashtra Govt Announces Complete Toll Waiver For Light Motor Vehicles At All 5 Entry Points Of City
-
Maharashtra2 years agoFalse photo of Imtiaz Jaleel’s rally, exposing the fooling conspiracy
-
National News2 years agoMinistry of Railways rolls out Special Drive 4.0 with focus on digitisation, cleanliness, inclusiveness and grievance redressal
-
Maharashtra2 years agoMaharashtra Elections 2024: Mumbai Metro & BEST Services Extended Till Midnight On Voting Day
-
National News2 years agoJ&K: 4 Jawans Killed, 28 Injured After Bus Carrying BSF Personnel For Poll Duty Falls Into Gorge In Budgam; Terrifying Visuals Surface
-
Crime2 years agoBaba Siddique Murder: Mumbai Police Unable To Get Lawrence Bishnoi Custody Due To Home Ministry Order, Says Report