Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today sent out a subtle but strong message to domestic steel companies, asking them to resist the temptation of making “windfall gains” when the market is going through a period of “excessive temporary demand”. Highlighting the vast growth potential of the industry at the Tata Centenary Celebrations in Jamshedpur, he said, “The industry and trade must eschew short-term gains that hurt consumers and disrupt the stability of the processes of economic growth.” The industry must deploy corporate power in the best interests of society as a whole, he added. According to the PM, stable growth, with reasonable prices can, in fact, widen and deepen the market for industrial products. Pointing out that companies such as Tata Steel have a “proud record of corporate social responsibility”, he said that they can show the way forward in deploying corporate power for public interest.Singh has only echoed the concerns of his cabinet colleagues — finance minister P Chidambaram and steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan — who have alleged that companies have been hiking prices indiscriminately and, in fact, indulging in cartel-like behaviour. “A section of cement and steel manufacturers are behaving like cartels. We have done some investigations. The government is looking at legal options too. The steel ministry is talking to steel producers,” Chidambaram said in the Rajya Sabha.Responding to the Prime Minister, Tata Steel quickly announced it would hold prices for the next three months. Industry body Indian Steel Alliance maintained that it would cooperate with the government in its efforts to curb inflation. “Last month, we took a unilateral decision to stop exports and have also supplied 15-20 per cent additional steel in March to correct the demand-supply situation,” said ISA president Moosa Raza. Denying the cartelisation charge, he said the industry has been affected by high coking coal and iron ore prices. However, Tata Steel managing director B Muthuraman said in Jamshedpur today that the only way to contain prices of steel is by immediately creating new capacities in the country to match or even exceed the fast pace of demand growth unleashed by a liberalised economy. “Prices of everything from raw materials to energy inputs to ocean freight and consequently steel products have recently surged to unprecedented highs due to rapid steel demand growth from the developing economies, coupled with inadequate raw material availability,” he said.He added that self-restraint on steel prices was being exercised amidst raising input costs by SAIL and Tata Steel.
