Import duty on coal removed

India's purchases of Russian coal have spiked in recent weeks despite global sanctions on Moscow as traders offer discounts of up to 30%. India bought an average $16.55 million of Russian coal a day in the three weeks through Wednesday, more than double the $7.71 million it bought in the three months after Russia's February 24 invasion

CIL has called for bids to supply 2.4 million tonnes (MT) of coal to be delivered for July-September 2022. This came in after the Union government directed CIL to meet the shortfall in the domestic coal supply chain. The imported coal would be supplied to state government-owned gencos and independent power producers (IPPs), 1.2 MT each. The IPPs include Sembcorp Energy, JP Power, Avantha Power, Lanco, Rattan India, GMR, CESC, Vedanta Power, Jindal India Thermal, among others

Export duty has been levied on steel intermediaries and key steel products. Export duty of 15% (from Nil earlier) has been levied on almost all the major steel products (including Stainless Steel). Key items on which export duty of 15% is levied includes pig iron, flat-rolled products of iron or non-alloyed steel, bars and rods and various flat-rolled products of stainless steel, etc. In the case of iron ore and concentrates, the duty has been raised to 50% on all categories, up from 30% (furthermore the 30% export duty was earlier applicable only for lumps that were above 58% iron content). In the case of iron ore pellets, which currently does not attract export duty, a 45% duty has been imposed. To reduce the cost of domestic production of steel products, import duty on coking coal and anthracite has been reduced from 2.5% to zero while the same on coke and semi-coke has been brought down from 5% to zero. The import duty on ferronickel has been lowered from 2.5% to zero

The Centre's decision to levy a 15% export tax on steel products and iron ore to rein in domestic inflation may force a review of capital expenditure (capex) plans at local steelmakers that risk being outdone by Chinese and Russian mills globally. India's steel exports in 2019-20 totalled 11.2 million tonnes; in 2021-22, shipments rose to 18.4 mt. Now iron ore faces a 50% duty and pellets 45%. 

The government has reduced import on PVC from 10% to 7.5%

States have informed the Power Ministry and the Central Electricity Regulatory Commission (CERC) that power companies are profiteering by overcharging for supply through direct negotiations by evading sale on power exchanges since prices were capped this month at Rs 12 per unit by the electricity regulator

Banks have told the Finance Ministry that most public sector power entities including state distribution companies will be ineligible for bank finance under the additional prudential lending guidelines suggested by the Power Ministry. The issue was raised in an interaction between officials from various departments including the Finance Ministry and bank executives last month