INDIA May 22 2016 2:41 PM     

MUMBAI: The Process Plant and Machinery Association of India  (PPMAI) has sought Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s intervention to withdraw  proposed Quality Control Order on steel.

The industry body which represents the process plant manufacturers has also  approached Steel Minister Narendra Singh Tomar for withdrawal of the Order  proposing mandatory standards in stainless steel flat product segment, it said  in a statement.

“We need your quick help in avoiding a serious catastrophic situation due to  expected issuing of Quality Control Order on steel and steel products by  Ministry of Steel,” PPMAI Secretary General V P Ramachandran said.

This Order will enforce mandatory registration with BIS certificate and  prohibiting manufacture, import, storage, sale and distribution of 16 steel  products including stainless steel by trade and industry without such  registration.

“In a letter to the Prime Minister, PPMAI has sought withdrawal of the order  and urged the Steel Ministry to open a dialogue with the domestic stainless  steel manufacturing industry to ascertain how much do they produce as per BIS  and whether they also support this draft Order,” he said.

Moreover, the matter needs re-examination as the proposed Order has serious  implications on trade and industrial growth as well as health and safety of  crores of consumers in India, Ramachandran added.

The draft Order will discourage investment in key manufacturing sectors since  BIS standards are not comprehensive and updated.

The value-added segment of industry uses stainless steel as per international  standards. In the industrial sector, no company buys stainless steel as per  Indian standards nor do the designers specify use of stainless steel as per  Indian standards, PPMAI said.

“In effect there is no demand for stainless steel as per Indian standards.  Government should investigate if domestic stainless steel producers are  producing stainless steel for industrial sector as per Indian standards,” it  claimed.

All PSUs in energy, be it nuclear, thermal or solar or gas based buy  stainless steel as per international standards. Railways buy as per  international or RDSO standards, and all members of PPMAI also buy as per  international standards.

It is very clear that process plant and Machinery industry sector is well  organised as per international standards and does not need to use the BIS  standards as mentioned in the quality control draft order schedule, it said.

Present BIS standards need alignment with international standards.

“Our standards are old and do not include hundreds of new grades which are  being used globally. In absence of Indian standards for those global standards,  applying BIS will mean loss of business that will kill industry and demand,” it  said.

The non-availability of materials as per global standards will make the value  added segment unviable to compete globally on quality,” Ramachandran  said.--Financialexpress.com