| News & Trends | ||
| Steel price hike stalls projects worth crores in Maharashtra - 01 Jul, 2008 | ||
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DNA reported that projects across Maharashtra, costing INR 2,000 crore, have either come to standstill or are delayed due to the hike in steel prices over the last few months and that the state government has now appointed a committee to consider increasing the contract price. The Public Works Department contractors, unable to cope with the price rise, held up the projects for more than 6 months. Only some contractors, who are financially sound, have been able to keep the projects afloat, though the pace of these projects remains slow. As per the government’s policies, the escalation of price given to contractors is according to the wholesale price index announced by Reserve Bank of India from time to time. The WPI announced by RBI in February 2008 was not in keeping with the market price of the steel. The WPI announced by RBI in February 2008 was 282.5 against 277 in September 2007. The hike was less than 1%, while the steel price hike in this period was over 50%. An official from PWD department said that "The price of steel went up to INR 49,275 per tonne in March 2008 from INR 30,900 per tonne in October 2007. In such a scenario, we cannot offer escalation as per WPI rate. RBI has not announced fresh WPI after February 2008, though it gave a provisional growth of 21% in WPI in March 2008. However, provisional index is not considered and contractors have been demanding escalation at market price." | ||
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| Indian Steelmakers Directory 2008 | |
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| Directory of Electrical Steel Users in India | |
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