Rajamani Krishnamurti, the president of the Indian Stainless Steel Development Association (ISSDA), said that nearly 30-35% of small or medium enterprises (MSMEs) in Gujarat stopped their business during the period from July to September last year due to the influx of cheap imports from China, pressuring their margins, and many other MSMEs have cut their capacities owing to the impact.

The stainless steel industry applied last year to ask the Indian government to impose a countervailing duty (CVD) on stainless steel imports from China to curb Chinese imports, but the request was rejected by the finance ministry on the ground that the production of 200 series stainless steel is no longer available as most of MSMEs of this product have shut their shops.

The Indian stainless steel industry is now striving for protection measures by giving drafts to the steel ministry. Meanwhile, the industry is also focusing on infrastructure that needs steel for high corrosion, such as the tunneling sector.