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Dr Swami Chants For Ban On Pakistani Cement

[New Delhi]Dr Swami Chants For Ban On Pakistani Cement
BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Dr Subramanian Swamy has urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to ban import of cement from Pakistan in the interest of domestic industry and national security.
.He said import of cement without levy of customs duty was introduced in 2007 to augment supply in view of high demand.
He said the situation has since changed and the domestic industry has added a lot of capacity which is not being utilised, with around 116 million tonnes cement capacity lying idle due to stagnating demand in the country.
He also referred to reports of recovery of drugs like heroin and fake Indian currency notes concealed in cement bags imported from Pakistan.
The BJP leader said the industry today has a capacity utilisation of less than 70 per cent with units in South India posting even lesser capacity utilsation. He further said that capital investment of more than Rs 90,000 crore required for creation of this capacity is lying stranded.
He said “India has become a dumping ground for imported cement, particularly from Pakistan, China and Bangladesh. It is ironical that while on every front Pakistan continues to trouble us, India continues to allow duty-free import of cement from Pakistan at the cost of Indian cement industry,”
The BJP leader said there is reverse charge duty structure as material required for cement manufacture attracts import duty while the finished product is not