Tata Steel welcomes Union Budget

"India is the world’s third-largest producer of crude steel (up from eighth in 2003) and the world’s 3rd largest consumer of finished steel. Steel sector should get the much needed demand boost through the government spending in infrastructure. The budgetary proposals announced by the Finance Minister will help the industry meet its growth target and reach its full potential.  However, the doubling of Clean Energy Cess from Rs 200 to 400 per ton would further increase the input cost for domestic producers," Narendran said.

"In the coming days we are hopeful that the Government will take steps to progress the GST Bill including the suggestions given under CEA panel. Steel Industry is a significant contributor to India’s GDP and is also pivotal to a number of allied industries and sectors such as- Infrastructure, Automobile, Construction . Therefore it is important that the steel be brought within the ambit of the GST," he said.

"The domestic steel industry will continue to  play an important role to the Government of India’s schemes of ‘Make in India’ and ‘Smart cities’ as it is a key  material supplier to the allied industries. However, the industry has been bogged down by a deluge of imports and predatory pricing over the last 18 months. And the absence of a level-playing field with countries would impact the domestic producers. While recent interventions by Government of India  has given some breather, long term measures to create a level playing field are required to firewall the domestic steel  industry from Global overcapacity and dumping," Narendran said.

Jaitley on Monday presented the Union Budget 2016 focusing on rural development and farm and social sector along with infrastructure with analysts terming it a pro-poor, pro-agriculture move that throws a challenge to the government to implement in reality.

Major focus of the budget is on agriculture and farmers’ welfare, with a massive mission to provide LPG connection to poor households, a new health protection scheme, increased outlay for infrastructure,  Rs. 2.87 Lakh crore Grant in Aid to Gram Panchayats and Municipalities and setting up of 1500 Multi Skill Training Institutes and incentives for jobs creation.