Mumbai/New Delhi, Nov. 14 -- India is preparing to ease rules for the import of certain types of specialty steel, most of which is not made in India or is produced in small quantities and used in cars, transformers and electrical equipment, two steel ministry officials told Mint.

So far, companies were allowed to import these items only from a small list of government-approved suppliers under what was known as Quality Control Orders. This made sourcing difficult and "costly".

Now, the government plans to temporarily suspend these strict quality-control rules for about 55 steel products for a one- to three-year period, according to the official quoted earlier, who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

The top beneficiaries would be steel...