(Reuters) – India has tightened steel procurement rules to favour domestic manufacturing, at a time when mills are struggling with lower prices of iron and steel due to a sharp influx of cheaper imports, a government notification showed.
India’s finished steel imports from China, South Korea and Japan hit a record high in the first 10 months of the previous financial year which ended on March 31, government data showed.
The new rules under the “Domestically Manufactured Iron And Steel Products Policy 2025” mandates all ministries, departments and agencies under the Indian government to prioritise locally manufactured iron and steel products.
The policy is valid for five years and may be extended at the discretion of the Ministry of Steel, a gazette notification issued on April 1 showed.
“Specifying foreign certifications or unreasonable technical specifications in bid document is a restrictive and discriminatory practise against local suppliers,” the notification said.
As per the policy, foreign governments and entities which do not allow Indian mills to participate in their tenders, will not be allowed to participate in Indian government tenders, except for some items specified by the steel ministry.
The policy, however, excludes steel grades not manufactured in the country, or if domestic mills cannot meet the quantity required for a project.
The move comes a few weeks after the Directorate General of Trade Remedies, which functions under the trade ministry, recommended a temporary 12% tax for 200 days on certain steel imports to curb “serious injury” to the domestic industry.
(Reporting by Neha Arora and Manvi Pant; Editing by Varun H K)
