Industry fears hike in steel prices

With the government making ISI mark mandatory for every kind of steel, industry fears that it will lead to rise in steel prices. The prices of steel are already on the rise, and within one month, it has increased by Rs 3,000 per metric tonne, and this notification by the government will only add to the woes of the industry. Earlier it was mandatory to have ISI mark on the final stage steel used for construction purposes, but now steel used for industrial purposes, ingots etc. have also been included under he ISI mark. No foreign company will be able to export its material to India without ISI certification. Even Indian companies without ISI certification will not be able to sell steel here. If any company wishes to apply for the ISI certification, it will take nearly 5-6 months to get the same. The market will hence be controlled by a few companies which have ISI certification.