Figure Watch

Flooring Rivals

With the opposition in a tizzy over the revelations of Mohan Guruswamy, the finance minister8217;s former advisor, on how close to Rs 5,000 crore was virtually given away to the country8217;s top steel producers, a look at how this happened. With the country8217;s steel mills badly hit by cheap imports, the government formed an inter-ministerial to recommend a minimum floor price, below which no imports would be allowed on the OGL list. While the committee recommended a floor price of 247 a tonne, itself substantially higher than the prevaling global price of around 195, when the final notification came out, it gave the floor price as 302. Since domestic producers are now theoretically free to price their goods to this level, based on their current capacities, this works out to a give-away of Rs 5,000 crore. A gift which, given the way prices get passed on, will finally have to be paid by the country8217;s citizens.