The performance of eight core industries during the April-May 2014 on the whole has remained subdued at 3.3 percent level, thus, infrastructure constraints continue to hold performance of the nation, apex industry body ASSOCHAM said.
On one side, while oil and gas sector has registered negative growth, steel sector has performed indifferently, while fertilizers, electricity, cement and coal have performed better. “The regulatory issues linked to the fixing of the price of gas have been affecting the performance of oil and gas sector,” said Mr D.S. Rawat, Secretary General of ASSOCHAM. “The Government needs to address this issue at the earliest,” said Mr Rawat.
“Steel sector has been affected by imports of steel mainly from Korea and Japan at reduced tariffs prescribed in FTAs,” said Mr Rawat. “The problems associated with the power distribution policy, its pricing, continued monopoly of public sector in coal production need strong policy action.” ASSOCHAM strongly opines that the new government needs to initiate a comprehensive review of not only policies but also processes that govern these core industries.