Wednesday, November 18, 2009







Union Steel Minsiter Shri Virbhadra Singh visits  Steel Pavilion in IITF 2009 
                  
Union Minister for Steel Shri Virbhadra Singh visited the Steel Pavilion in IITF-2009 today. While speaking on the occasion, Shri Singh delineated the steps being taken by the Ministry to fast-track the growth and development of the iron & steel industry in the country. He explained how several initiatives are resulting in harmonisation of policies in respect of production, pricing, distribution, import and export of iron & steel, ferro alloys and refractories. Shri Singh elaborated on the steps being taken for promoting the inflow of speedy investments in the steel sector, fast-tracking clearances of projects and strengthening the delivery chain, particularly in rural areas.

In the ‘Steel Pavilion’ of the Ministry of Steel, Public Sector Undertakings SAIL, RINL, NMDC, MOIL, MECON Ltd., KIOCL, HSCL, MSTC and FSNL as well major private sector steel producers like TATA Steel,  ESSAR and  Jindal Steel & Power Ltd., and organisations under the Ministry like Joint Plant Committee (JPC), UNDP/GEF Project (Steel)  and  Institute for Steel Development and Growth (INSDAG) have set up their stalls displaying their expertise, achievements and contribution to the Indian economy.

Despite soaring input prices, fluctuating market and the world economy in a state of flux, the Indian steel sector has remained buoyant. The various timely measures taken by the Government has helped the steel industry bounce back from the shadow of economic slowdown and record an impressive growth in steel production and consumption during the first two quarters of the current financial year. It is a great achievement that India attained third position in world steel production during the period January to September 2009. For security of coking coal, a joint venture company named International Coal Ventures Private Ltd, has been incorporated to acquire coal assets overseas. Restructuring, re-organising and amalgamating the PSUs are also on the anvil for achieving economies of scale and vertical integration along with raw material security.
 
Disinvestment in PSUs under the Ministry of Steel is envisaged.  Apart from SAIL, Ministry of Steel has identified MOIL and NMDC as the other potential PSUs which would be taken up for divestment/raising of additional equity. The Steel Ministry is focused on proactively developing a framework for overall growth of steel in the country. 
 

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