The Institute of Indian <link _top>Foundrymen (IIF) has expressed disappointment at the turn of events at Singur over the Tata Motors Rs 1 lakh car project.
(Tata Motors small car project at Singur which is located 40 km from Kolkata has became a major issue in India's post-liberalized economy. TMC (Trina Mool Congress) launched an indefinite agitation asking for restoration of lands to the farmers.)
The project gave hope to the <link _top>foundry industry in West Bengal, <link _top>foundry having a correlation with the automobile industry. IIF would be organizing the 57th Indian <link _top>Foundry Congress along with IFEX-2009, an exhibition to showcase the capacity/capabilities of <link _top>foundry industry and its suppliers.
The congress was being held in Kolkata following the West Bengal government’s decision to promote a <link _top>foundry park in Howrah and Tata Motors’ decision to manufacture “Nano” at Singur.
According to the IIF, tremendous growth in the automotive industry in the northern, southern and western parts of India triggered growth of the <link _top>foundry industry along with modernization/technology development to maintain the required standard of the automobile industry. Eastern region was an exception where modern automobile industry did not set up manufacturing facilities.
The IIF also pointed out that the confidence of the industry was seriously shaken due to frequent and unprecedented price hike for all the key raw material inputs.
Over the last one year period, the price of <link _top>pig iron has gone up by 69 per cent, <link _top>steel scrap by 67 per cent, <link _top>metallurgical coke 235 per cent, <link _top>ferro silicon 87 per cent and <link _top>ferro chrome 180 per cent.
