Tripping on MIP The recently announced and much-awaited minimum import price MIP on certain categories of steel has stirred up a hornet’s nest. Major manufacturers of the commodity are a happy lot and have already effected price increases though demand is certainly nothing to write home about. But you can’t please everybody. Downstream producers, exporters, sponge iron makers and several other players in the MSME space are miffed. Overall, the feeling is, ‘MIP is fine but at what price’ Cover Story attempts to map the ire over MIP Feature: Imposition of the MIP may effectively reduce imports, which are currently averaging around 1 mt per month or 12 mt per annum, by 50-60 percent, provided the MIP is extended for a year from the current tenure of 6 months and to that extent domestic steel sales may rise Feature: The Chhattisgarh sponge iron industry feels the Green cess burden of 600 crore, applicable from next fiscal could lead to a closure of the smaller units. They also feel this could lead to dual cess Interview: In the gas and cylinder transportation space, safety and quality tackle half the logistical issues. The balance is taken care of by the scheduling software which targets mainly productivity, cost and innovation, Ranabir Chatterjee, Head of Delivery, South Asia & Asian countries, Linde Asia Pte Ltd, tells Steel Insights.