Hon'ble Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh today presented the MoU Excellence Award in the Mining & Metals category to Maharatna Steel Authority of India Limited. The award was received by SAIL Chairman Shri C.S. Verma in the presence of Minister for Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Shri Praful Patel, at a glittering function held at Vigyan Bhawan, organized jointly by Department of Public Enterprises and Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE). On receiving the award, SAIL Chairman Shri Verma said, "The fact that SAIL has been winning this award year after year stands testimony to our internal strength and our deep-rooted values. The award is an acknowledgement of our efforts, and we shall strive ceaselessly to keep improving and bettering ourselves". Starting from 2002-03, it is for the eighth consecutive year that SAIL has won the MoU Excellence Award.
SAIL is implementing a massive modernization and expansion plan to enhance its hot metal production capacity from 14 million tons per annum (Mtpa) to 23.4 Mtpa at an investment of about Rs. 72,000 crore. This multi-pronged plan, besides targeting higher production, also addresses the need for cost competitiveness by introducing state of the art technologies and eliminating technological obsolescence, achieving energy savings, enriching product mix, reducing pollution, developing mines and collieries, introducing customer centric processes and developing matching infrastructure facilities. Under its long-term strategic plan called 'Strategy 2020', the company plans to scale up production of steel to a level of 45 to 60 million tonnes, and diversify into related areas of operation, so as to optimize business opportunities and de-risk business from fluctuations in business cycle.
SAIL has been making continued efforts for ensuring raw material security and forging alliances with global entities for tapping new markets. In this direction, SAIL-led consortium of Indian public and private steel and mining companies submitted a winning bid for mining exploration rights at Hajigak, Afghanistan and has been allotted three blocks with an estimated reserve of 1.28 billion tonnes of high-grade iron ore. For facilitating acquisition of coking coal assets, a JV company led by SAIL, International Coal Ventures Private Limited (ICVL), is in the process of identification of coking coal assets and mines which could become a sustainable source of coking and thermal coal for the promoter companies.
SAIL has also taken new strategic initiatives to augment technological interventions, including the newly-launched R&D 'master plan' of SAIL aimed at facilitating "acquisition and development of appropriate technologies for sustainable growth". SAIL is also working for bringing emerging iron making technologies to India. It has formed a 50:50 JV with Kobe Steel of Japan for setting up a 0.5 MTPA ITmk3(R) technology based plant at Durgapur and is in advanced talks with POSCO for 3 MT Finex technology based plant at Bokaro.
SAIL Chairman Shri C.S. Verma receiving the MoU Excellence Award from Hon'ble Prime Minister India Dr Manmohan Singh at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi, in the presence of Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Shri Praful Patel.
