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The minister was reviewing the Q1 performance of the public sector major at a meeting. The Minister said, the economy looks set for a rebound considering the latest IIP numbers and the projections of GDP this fiscal. He said, this will translate into decent demand growth for steel in the near future. The Minister appreciated the difficult business environment following the slowdown and hoped the situation to improve in the next couple of quarters. The Minister expressed satisfaction over the performance of SAIL during the first quarter. The steel major reported a turnover of Rs 9747 crore during April – June 09, a decrease of 20% over the same quarter last year. The net profit also fell by 27.7% to Rs.1326 crore. The profitability was adversely affected due to reduction in average net sales realization of saleable steel, escalation in input prices mainly of imported coal, coke, ferro-silicon, increase in railway freight, increase in fuel cost surcharge by DVC and higher interest charges. The Minister urged SAIL to strengthen its CSR activities. He said, out of the budget of Rs 80 crore, the company has been able to spend Rs10.83 crore during the first quarter which is a drop of 201% on sequential basis and a drop of 60% compared to Q1 of the previous year.