Chaudhury Birendra Singh has been appointed the new union steel minister

KOLKATA: Chaudhury Birendra Singh has been appointed the new union steel minister. He replaces Narendra Singh Tomar who has been in charge of the steel & mines ministry since the NDA government was sworn in 2014.

The new steel minister will have his hands full, with the steel sector facing one if it's worst tines since 2008. Domestic steel demand is at its lowest ebb, while cheap imports have added to price competition thus leading to a fall in realisation for domestic steel firms which are saddled with huge debt.