The steel industry in the country was in bad shape due to sluggish market conditions and stress was being laid on exploring new markets abroad. The public sector steel plants were being directed to function on commercial lines, Bais told newsmen here on Sunday.

He said in view of the sluggish market conditions, expansion of the profit-making Bhilai steel plant had been suspended temporarily. The Rourkela Steel Plant and the Indian Iron and Steel Company (Iisco)' West Bengal were being modernised. Despite the poor demand for steel due to delay in launching various construction projects, the Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) was still making profit. Among all public sector steel plants, Bhilai Steel Plant was the main profit-earner, he said.

Bais said Bhilai Steel Managing director Vikrant Gujral was presently touringdifferent countries to explore fresh markets for the steel products. He ruled out the possibility of closure of the sick public sector undertakings under the steel ministry like Hindustan Steel Construction Limited (HSCL), Bhilai Refractory Plant and Metal and Mineral Trading Company (MMTC). He also ruled out retrenchment of employees of the sick undertakings to bring these units out of the red.

The employees of these undertakings were. However, given the option for voluntary retirement, he said.

Bais claimed that the condition of the domestic steel industry would improve as a result of various provisions and concessions given in this year's budget. While raising import duty on steel products, anti-dumping duty on coke had been reduced to four per cent from eight per cent, he said. At present coke was being imported mainly from China and Australia, while only twelve percent of the coke demand was being met from indigenous production, he said. He said there would not be much impact on the steel industryfollowing the economic ban imposed by some countries after India's nuclear tests. Bais said the Bhilai refractory plant, which was in the red, had already been given Rs five crore to enable it to pay wages to the employees.

A demand had also been raised before the finance ministry to sanction another Rs 104 crore to help the Bhilai refractory to tide over the financial crisis arising out of wage revision, he said. About the diamond deposits in Raipur district, the union minister said in the present situation mining of the diamond deposits would take some more time as fresh tenders had to be invited and various clearances from forests, environment and mining ministries had to be obtained.

After rejecting the tender of South African giant De Beers, only one tender of B Kumar and Company of Mumbai was before the government, the government could not not decide on a single tender and fresh tenders had to be invited, he said.

He alleged that the Digvijay Singh government had shown haste in floating tenders tomine the diamond deposits. Citing instances, he said two private steel plants had been granted lease for mining of ire ore from bastar district, but both plants had not not been given clearances in the last two years, Bais said the mining ministry had cleared only 140 files relating to mining lease in the last three years, while 155 such files had been cleared in the last one and a half month.