The Indian government is mulling an increase in the iron-ore import duty to check rising inward shipments of the steel-making raw material even as domestic market faces a glut.
Government sources said that various industry stakeholders, including miners and the government of mineral-rich Karnataka, have petitioned for a hike in the import duty as the current rate of 2.5% had given rise to trend of domestic steel companies resorting to imports to meet their requirement, while large stocks were lying unsold at pitheads across iron-ore producing states.