INDIACSR News Network
NEW DELHI: The Prime Minster Dr. Manmohan Singh has urged the steel industry to adopt the latest energy efficient technologies in our modernization and expansion programmes. He said this while presenting the Prime Minister’s Trophy for the Best Integrated Steel Plant for the Year 2008-09 to Tata Steel Ltd. Jamshedpur and for 2009-10 to Bhilai Steel Plant of Steel Authority of India Ltd.(SAIL) here on 27 August.
He said that the Government has launched the Perform, Achieve and Trade (PAT) Scheme under the National Mission for Enhanced Energy Efficiency. He hoped that the steel industry will work with the Government to achieve the targets set under this scheme.
The Prime Minister said that new technologies for production of steel directly utilizing iron ore fines and non-coking coal need to be developed and adopted to minimize our dependence on imported and costly coking coal and lumpy iron ore. He said, “I am happy that the Ministry of Steel is implementing a new Research and Development programme in the sector to address perennial technical problems associated with the use of Indian iron ore and coal besides developing suitable technology for producing quality steel.” Dr. Manmohan Singh said that the steel industry should add to this effort by investing more in Research and Development.
On the modernisation and expansion plans of public sector steel plants, Dr. Manmohan Singh said that it will not only increase their production capacity but also improve their efficiency on productivity. Simultaneously, the private sector steel plants have also, on the average, grown bigger in size. He said, a number of them have achieved an annual capacity of 10 million tonne and several smaller steel plants are also in the process of expanding their capacities. With these capacity additions, we hope to soon become the 2nd largest steel producer in the world.
On the occasion, the Union Minister for Steel Beni Prasad Verma said today India is the 4th largest producer of crude steel in the world in 2011 as against the 8th position in 2003 and is expected to become the 2nd largest producer of crude steel soon. Indian steel industry today is increasingly being exposed to the international competition. Therefore there is a constant need for technological upgradation and improvement. He said, recently SAIL has signed an agreement with Japanese Company to setup an Iron Making Technology Mark 3 based nugget plant at Durgapur, West Bengal.
Shri Verma said that Ministry of Steel has launched a National Campaign for increasing demand for steel, especially in non-traditional sectors, such as the rural and the agro-based industrial sector. He informed that to lay down a path for the domestic steel industry the National Steel Policy 2005 has been reviewed and the ‘New National Steel Vision’ for next 30 years has been initiated.
The Minister said that to give added thrust to innovation and R&D in the country, a policy paper on R&D has also been published with special focus on iron ore beneficiation, coal ash reduction and promotion of production of high grade value added steel in the country. SAIL has decided to earmark one percent of gross sales for promotion of R&D.
The Government instituted a scheme for award of the Prime Minister’s Trophy for excellence in performance of Integrated Steel Plants to spur them to achieve international standards of efficiency, quality and economy in their operations. Government has since selected the winners of the Prime Minister’s Trophy and cash award of Rs. 2 crore for the Financial Year 2008-09 & 2009-10.
As per the Prime Minister’s Trophy Scheme, any company having won the Prime Minister’s Trophy in the preceding year could be given a Certificate of Excellence for obtaining the highest score in the year of evaluation. The winner of Certificate of excellence for the year 2009-10 is Tata Steel Ltd.
The Scheme of awarding Prime Minister’s Trophy with a cash award was launched by the then Prime Minister Late Shri Narasimha Rao, to the best performing integrated steel plant in India while dedicating the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd. in 1992.
As per the Scheme for Prime Minister’s Trophy, a Panel of Judges is appointed every year for selection of the integrated steel plant based on their total performance in respect of Objective parameters such as Capacity Utilization, Efficiency of Operations, Financial Performance, Environment Management, Corporate Social Responsibility and also Enabling Parameters, Customer Satisfaction Index and Observation by the Panel of Judges based on plant visits. These awards for 2008-09 & 2009-10 are based on the recommendations of a Panel of Judges constituted by Ministry of Steel, Government of India.
The Secretary, Ministry of Steel D.R.S. Chaudhary was also present on the occasion.
