“In the Eleventh Plan period, we expect the economy to grow at around 9 per cent per year. To ensure non-inflationary growth, we must step up production in all sectors, in agriculture, manufacturing and in services,” Singh said after laying the foundation stone for expansion and modernisation of Rs 1,902-crore SAIL Salem Steel Plant.

Sharing the dais with UPA chairperson Sonia Gandhi, the Prime Minister pointed out that due to steep increase in international prices of petroleum products and primary commodities, inflation and its control have emerged as major concerns of policy. “We have taken steps to moderate the rise in prices. We have also tried to ensure that inflation control measures do not hurt growth,” he said.

He added that the country has a long way to go in creating infrastructure essential for modernisation. He said ready availability of steel products is a key requirement for infrastructure.

Singh said rising prominence of the Indian steel industry on the global landscape also mirrored the emergence of the country as a leading economic power. “From small beginnings, India has now become the world’s fifth largest steel producer of steel. If the present trend continues, we will become the second largest steel producer by 2015,” he said. A lot of hard work and enterprise was imperative to bridge the demand-supply mismatch, he said and asked domestic steel majors to operate on the frontiers of technology, managerial excellence and high productivity.

Gandhi said the UPA was against indiscriminate privatisation of PSUs and pointed out that PSUs should make sustainable profits to discharge their larger social obligations. She said though the private sector was trying to expand their base, PSUs would continue to play a crucial role in the development of far-flung areas of the country. She praised SAIL for its performance and for setting up Steel Processing Units in nine states.

Steel minister Ram Vilas Paswan highlighted the need for additional production of steel to bridge the demand-supply gap which is currently 7 per cent. On the issue of steel prices, Paswan made it clear that his ministry was expecting further correction in prices especially at a time when global prices were declining.