New Delhi, May 4: In its bid to distance itself from the controversy over price hike, government-owned steel giant SAIL today pulled out from the Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) stating it has "outlived its utility".

The Indian Steel Alliance (ISA) is an umbrella body of leading steel-makers, including JSW, Essar and Ispat, offering them a common platform for policy decisions.

Recently, the leading steel makers have been blamed by the government of forming cartels to jack up prices taking advantage of the rising demand.

"We felt that ISA needed to do more on promoting steel use and sharing of data between the utilities, a function which is being now performed efficiently by INSDAG," a SAIL spokesman told PTI.

However, ISA President Moosa Raza could not be contacted for his comments on the issue.

Tata Steel had also withdrawn from the alliance some time back. The ISA has been spearheading the campaign against government's move to set up a regulator in the steel sector to monitor prices and imposing export duty on steel.

The ISA had been instrumental in launching a sustained campaign against the move to disincentivise steel exports as well as demanding export levy on iron ore.

Its campaign on export duty received a set back recently with the finance minister proposing up to 15 per cent export duty on steel in a bid to curb the metal prices which have risen by 49 per cent in the last one year.

Raza had written to the prime minister saying that any move to appoint a regulator in the steel sector would be like putting the steel makers between the prongs of a pincer.