Steel ministry moves court to push its import curb mandate

The Union steel ministry has moved the Supreme Court against a high court stay order on import curbs on steel that fall short of national standards, highlighting the plight of small businesses amid government's thrust for local manufacturing.

- Subhash Narayan & Manas Pimpalkhare

The ministry's special leave petition (SPL) follows a 13 June notification mandating Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) certification for all imported raw material that goes into making steel products.

The notification led to protests by micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that import cheap raw materials for making steel products, prompting the government to suspend the order until 15 July.

In the meanwhile, a petition against the notification by an MSME producer led the Madras High Court to order a stay on it on 13 July.