By IANS
New Delhi : The rise in domestic steel prices is largely due to increased manufacturing cost and the government has no plans to set up an authority to regulate the sector, Minister of State for Steel Minister Akhilesh Das said here Friday.
“The price of steel items in the domestic market has shown an upward trend mainly due to the growing demand and rise in the cost of raw materials required for steel manufacturing,” Das told the Rajya Sabha.
“The government does not propose to bring any law for creation of a regulatory authority for controlling the price of steel,” he said, arguing that in a liberalized scenario the price of steel is determined by the interplay of the market forces.
Minister for Steel, Chemicals and Fertilisers Ram Vilas Paswan had earlier expressed concern over the price hikes by private steel producers, leading to speculation that the government might institute a regulatory authority to control prices.