Will push for raising steel import duties to 10-12%: HD Kumaraswamy

Bengaluru: Offering protection to the domestic steel industry from Chinese import dumps, the Union Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy, promised to take up the issue with the union finance ministry to have the import duty from the present 7.5 per cent to 10-12 per cent.

Speaking at the Fifth Steel Conclave organised by the Indian Steel Association, on Wednesday, the minister said, "The problem which you are facing from China, for that I will try to convince... the finance ministry to look at (raising the duty on steel imports) from 7.5 per cent tax to 10-12 per cent tax." He added that several players from the steel industry visited him in the last two months and discussed the problems they were facing in the growth of the steel industry.

FAME-III on the way

On the sidelines of another event organised by industry body Assocham, he said, "the third iteration of Faster Adoption and Manufacturing of (Hybrid) Electric Vehicles (FAME) 3 scheme will be rolled out within two month."

"We are taking a comprehensive approach to boost EV eco-system and I call upon all stakeholders to join hands towards making India a global leader in electric mobility and towards our vision of a ‘Viksit Bharat, " he added.

FAME 3 will replace the temporary Electric Mobility Promotion Scheme (EMPS) 2024, which is set to expire in September. The EMPS, which was supposed to be operational from April 1 to July 31 2024, with a total outlay of Rs.500 crore, has been extended by two more months to September 30, 2024. Moreover, the scheme's outlay was increased to Rs 778 crore.

The government notified Phase-II of the FAME Scheme for a five-year period starting from April 1, 2019, with a total outlay of Rs 11,500 crore. Under this scheme, as of July 31, EV manufacturers have made claims worth Rs 6,825 crore for 16.7 lakh vehicles.

The Phase-I of the FAME scheme was launched in 2015 for a four-year period ending on March 31, 2019, with an outlay of Rs 895 crore.

(With PTI inputs)