The commission further fears that chronic shortfalls might develop as a result in the availability of these essential goods and the gap between supply and demand might widen further, necessitating larger imports in the coming years.
The Ministry of Steel and Heavy Industries, which is responsible for the execution of public sector projects for the manufacture of these goods, does not however appear to share this pessimistic assessment of the Planning Commission.
In respect of steel, the Ministry's "realising" assessment concludes that the Plan target of 21.6 million tons might not be achieved in full. There might be a shortfall of almost 2.7 million tons. But the Ministry is confident that the deficit could be reduced further by expediting work on the expansion of the public sector projects. The Ministry has stressed the need to ascent the highest priority to the presentation of the expansion programmes.
The Ministry of Steel has also prepared estimation of the annual requirements of foundry grade iron and special steels for the next four years. These estimates will also be considered at tomorrow's meeting.