#SAILSteelNews 29th March 2016

• Mr. Rajesh Kumar Rathi is the new CEO of IISCO Steel Plant
• The 20 percent safeguard duty imposed by the government on certain steel products imported, shall now be extended up to March 2018.
• Minister of State for Steel and Mines Shri Vishnu Deo Sai recently visited Rangamati, Tezpur, Assam to inaugurate the residential campus of Indo Tibetan Border Police's (ITBP) residential and non-residential buildings built by Hindustan Steel Construction Limited (HSCL).
• The coal scam which caused the fall of UPA-II regime witnessed the first conviction. R S Rungta and R C Rungta, directors of Jharkhand Ispat Pvt. Ltd. (JIPL) were charged with misguiding the ministry of coal with false claims and thereby causing a loss of 1.86 lakh crore to the exchequer.
• Essar Steel is planning to sell its assets to restructure its outstanding debts. It may sell its stake in other group companies like Aegis and Essar Ports also.
• Steel Strips Wheels Ltd. (SSWL) gets a Rs.110 crore worth order for making steel wheels for Peugeot Citreon over a period of five years.
• Many steel companies are dropping "Power" from their names by selling off their power companies. Monnet Ispat and Energy, Adhunik Metaliks Ltd and Adhunik Power are trying to sell their power subsidiaries. While the debts of steel companies will come down with this, the selling of power companies is a challenge as there are not many buyers.
• India asks US to comply with WTO ruling against countervailing duties (CVD) on steel products. India, together with Japan, the EU, Brazil and China has asked the US to not transfer the anti-dumping and CVD on to its industries. If US recalculates or withdraws CVD as per WTO ruling, then many firms like Tata Steel, Jindal, Essar and SAIL are likely to gain significantly.
• The ministry of mines has proposed a star rating mechanism for mining leases if the firm follows sustainable development practices which includes addressing social impact of resettlement and rehabilitation among others. The leases shall be rated in their category and the best performing lease will get 5 stars.