According to Mr Shyam Sunder Beriwala the newly elected president of Merchants Chamber of Commerce, uncertain iron ore supply and poor railway facilities are posing problems to the emerging iron and steel industry hub in the Asansol-Durgapur region and it needs immediate attention.
Mr Beriwala at a press meet announcing the roadmap of chamber activities said that “The Union Government should look at framing a national policy on mining and distribution of iron ore in order to ensure that the iron and steel industries coming up in any State do not suffer from supply constraints.”
Mr Beriwala said that “Railway linkage from iron rich States of Orissa and Jharkhand to all centers of iron and steel production should be developed urgently and railway wagons should be available for carrying ores without any delay adding that the chamber would pursue these proposals with the concerned authorities.
He observed that small and medium enterprises segment account for almost 40% of the country’s industrial production and exports. However, the segment faces severe challenges such as inefficient labour laws, high cost and inadequacy of bank credit and poor infrastructure.
He added that “In order to overcome the problems, the chamber has suggested to the Mohanty Committee set up by the Reserve Bank of India that about 30% of the bank credit should be earmarked for SMEs and provided at about 10% interest.”
Drawing attention to the agriculture sector, Mr Beriwala said the current year was marked by unprecedented droughts and floods across the country, which has caused a severe drop in availability of food grains, vegetables and fruits and a sharp rise in their prices.
Mr Beriwala said that “We have suggested that in short term, sufficient imports of all essential agro products should be made by the Government and an effective strategy should be adopted to ensure rapid increase in the production of all oil seeds and pulses in particular.”
(Sourced from http://www.steelguru.com/news/index/2009/10/16/MTE2Mjg0/Poor_rail_facilities_hurting_Durgapur_steel_hub.html)
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Poor rail facilities hurting Durgapur steel hub
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