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The steel sector is the one of the largest contributors to rising non-performing assets (NPAs) or bad loans with banks, accounting for ₹3,13,411 crore as advance outstandings, out of around ₹5 lakh crore total NPAs, the government said.
Giving this information during Question Hour in the Lok Sabha on Monday, Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said efforts were on by banks and the Reserve Bank of India to restructure the loans given to the steel industry so that they can be recovered.
PSU lossesSingh, who was replying to a question by G Hari (AIADMK) and a supplementary by Jyotiraditya Scindia (Congress), admitted that public sector steel units had faced heavy losses due to the global decline in steel prices.
Hari said cheap steel imports to India from countries such as China, South Korea, Japan and Russia had surged 70 per cent, while exports had declined by 8.1 per cent, asking the Centre what it was doing to protect domestic industry.
Scindia flayed the government for wanting to broaden the CEPA, adding that the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with South Korea and Japan should instead be reviewed to restrict steel imports to avoid dumping in India.
China suppliesThe Minister said China had produced 25-30 per cent more steel than required for its domestic requirements, adding that prices had declined further as Chinese steel made its way into the Indian market.
“Global steel price continues to be low, which is a matter of concern,” he said, adding that to check the situation, the government had imposed Minimum Import Price for steel with effect from February.
EPF Act to be amendedThe Centre is planning to amend the Employees’ Provident Fund Act to reduce the number of workers to 10 in a firm so that they can be brought under retirement fund body EPFO, the Lok Sabha was informed.
At present, it is mandatory under the Act for firms having 20 or more workers to subscribe to social security schemes run by the Employees’ Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO).
On another question if the government was considering hiking the limit of salary to ₹15,000 a month for mandatory employer contribution for EPF, the Minister said: “We are very actively considering enhancing to ₹15,000/month. We are preparing some guidelines and framing up some schemes.”
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