The government of India is considering to restore four percentage points excise duty on steel and cement in the Budget, which was removed as part of stimulus packages.

To boost the manufacturing sector and arrest slowdown in the economy, the government had cut the excise duty across the board in December by four percentage points as part of a stimulus package.

Later again in February, the excise duty was reduced by two percentage points. However, industry feels that any increase in duty now will affect recovery in the manufacturing sector, which has clocked only 0.7% growth in April 2009.