In a latest move, the Government on Tuesday has warned various private steel producers to keep a check on the rising prices or be prepared for an intervention.

Talking to reporters, the Union Chemicals Fertiliser and Steel Minister, Ram Vilas Paswan said that the move to talk to the private players was necessitated as they controlled about two-thirds of the market while the public sector steel units have only about one-third of the market.

On whether the move to talk to the private players regarding prices would be the first step towards pricing control, he declined a direct reply, but said, "It is in the interest of the consumers. We keep talking to the private players and last time we had a meeting they agreed to cut steel prices by Rs 2,000 per MT."