Steel Authority of India

1959–1973

SAIL traces its origin to the Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL) which was set up on 19 January 1954. HSL was initially designed to manage only one plant that was coming up at Rourkela.

For Bhilai and Durgapur Steel Plants, the preliminary work was done by the Iron and Steel Ministry. From April 1957, the supervision and control of these two steel plants were also transferred to Hindustan Steel. The registered office was originally in New Delhi. It moved to Calcutta in July 1956, and ultimately to Ranchi in December 1959.

A new steel company, Bokaro Steel Limited (Bokaro Steel Plant), was incorporated on 29 January 1964 to construct and operate the steel plant at Bokaro. The 1 MT phases of Bhilai and Rourkela Steel Plants were completed by the end of December 1961. The 1 MT phase of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in January 1962 after commissioning of the Wheel and Axle plant. The crude steel production of HSL went up from 1.58 MT (1959–60) to 1.6 MT. The second phase of Bhilai Steel Plant was completed in September 1967 after commissioning of the Wire Rod Mill. The last unit of the 1.8 MT phase of Rourkela – the Tandem Mill – was commissioned in February 1968, and the 1.6 MT stage of Durgapur Steel Plant was completed in August 1969 after commissioning of the Furnace in SMS. Thus, with the completion of the 2.5 MT stage at Bhilai, 1.8 MT at Rourkela and 1.6 MT at Durgapur, the total crude steel production capacity of HSL was raised to 3.7 MT in 1968–69 and subsequently to 4 MT in 1972–73. IISCO was taken over as a subsidiary in 1978 and later merged in 2006.

Holding Company

The Ministry of Steel and Mines drafted a policy statement to evolve a new model for managing industry. The policy statement was presented to the Parliament on 2 December 1972. On this basis the concept of creating a holding company to manage inputs and outputs under one umbrella was mooted. This led to the formation of Steel Authority of India Ltd. The company, incorporated on 24 January 1973 with an authorised capital of ₹2,000 crore (US$300 million), was made responsible for managing five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and Burnpur, the Alloy Steel Plant and the Salem Steel Plant. In 1978 SAIL was restructured as an operating company.

Major Units

SAIL Integrated Steel Plants

1. Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) in Odisha set up with German collaboration (The first integrated steel plant in the Public Sector in India, 1959)
2. Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) in Chhattisgarh set up with Soviet collaboration (1959)
3. Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) at Durgapur, West Bengal set up with British collaboration (1965)
4. Bokaro Steel Plant (BSL) in Jharkhand (1965) set up with Soviet collaboration (The Plant is hailed as the country’s first Swadeshi steel plant, built with maximum indigenous content in terms of equipment, material and know-how)
5. IISCO Steel Plant (ISP) at Burnpur in Asansol, West Bengal

Special Steel Plants

1. Alloy Steels Plants (ASP), Durgapur, West Bengal
2. Salem Steel Plant (SSP), Tamil Nadu
3. Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Limited (VISL), at Bhadravathi, Karnataka

Ferro Alloy Plant

1. Chandrapur Ferro Alloy Plant (CFP) in Maharashtra

Refractory Plants - SAIL Refractory Unit (SRU)

1. SAIL Refractory Unit, Bhandaridah in Jharkhand
2. SAIL Refractory Unit, Bhilai in Chhattisgarh
3. SAIL Refractory Unit, IFICO, Ramgarh in Jharkhand
4. SAIL Refractory Unit, Ranchi Road in Jharkhand

Central Units

1. Centre for Engineering and Technology
2. Research and Development Centre for Iron and Steel
3. SAIL Consultancy Organisation
4. Environment Management Division

NTPC SAIL Power Company Limited (NSPCL)

A 50:50 joint venture between Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) and National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd. (NTPC Ltd.). It manages the captive power plants at Rourkela, Durgapur and Bhilai with a combined capacity of 314 MW. It has installed additional capacity by implementation of 500 MW (2 x 250 MW Units) power plant at Bhilai. The commercial generation of 1st Unit has commenced in April 2009 and the 2nd unit in October 2009.

During FY2013-14, NSPCL generated 6156.091 MU of electricity with a PLF of 86.33%

mjunction services limited

mjunction services limited operating in Information Technology and the Internet, is a 50:50 venture promoted by SAIL and TATA Steel. Founded in February 2001, it is today not only India's largest eCommerce company (having eTransacted worth over Rs. 900 billion till date) but also runs the world's largest eMarketplace for steel.

Bhilai JP Cement Ltd

SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with M/s Jaiprakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.2 MT slag based cement plant at Bhilai. The company shall commence cement production at Bhilai by March'2010, whereas clinker production at Satna shall start within 2009.

Bokaro JP Cement Ltd

SAIL has incorporated another joint venture company with M/s JaiPrakash Associates Ltd to set up a 2.1 MT cement plant at Bokaro utilising slag from BSL. The project implementation is under progress with commencement of cement production likely by July 2011. Bokaro Jaypee cement plant opening ceremony was held by the chief minister of Jharkhand shri. Arjun Munda in 2012.

SAIL&MOIL Ferro Alloys (Pvt.) Limited

SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with Manganese Ore (India) Ltd on 50:50 basis to produce ferro-manganese and silico-manganese required for production of steel.

S&T Mining Company Pvt. Ltd

SAIL has incorporated a joint venture company with TATA Steel for joint acquisition & development of coal blocks/mines. New indigenous opportunities for coking coal development are being explored by the Joint Venture company for securing coking coal supplies.

International Coal Ventures Pvt. Limited

International Coal Ventures Private Limited is a special purpose vehicle set up to achieve the target of making steel PSUs self-reliant in the area of coking coal, a joint venture company has been incorporated composed of five central PSU companies i.e. SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), Coal India Limited and other target countries.

Development of Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan

A consortium comprising state-owned NMDC and RINL and private sector steel players—JSW, JSW Ispat, Jindal Steel and Power, and Monnet Ispat and Energy and led by SAIL, plan to invest USD 75 million in first phase for the development of Hajigak iron ore mines in Afghanistan. The consortium, in November 2011, had won the mining rights for three iron ore mines which are said to contain 1.28 billion tonnes of rich reserves.

Development of mines through outsourcing

SAIL has decided to outsource development of two virgin iron ore mines at Rowghat in Chhattisgarh and Chiria in Jharkhand with an annual capacity of 14 and 15 million tonnes, respectively. The development of each mine is likely to cost between ₹1,000 crore (US$150 million) – ₹1,200 crore (US$180 million).

SAIL SCL Limited

A 50:50 JV with Government of Kerala where SAIL has management control to revive the existing facilities at Steel Complex Ltd, Calicut and also to set up, develop and manage a TMT rolling mill of 65,000 MT capacity along with balancing facilities and auxiliaries.

International Coal Ventures Private Limited

ICVL is a joint venture of five companies owned by the Indian government. Aside from Steel Authority of India Limited, the other venturers are Coal India, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam, National Minerals Development Corporation and National Thermal Power Corporation. ICVL acquired a 65 percent stake in the Benga coal mine from the Rio Tinto Group in July 2014.

SAIL RITES Bengal Alloy Casting Pvt. Limited

SAIL has signed a 50:50 joint venture with Burn Standard Company Limited for setting up a wagon components manufacturing facility at Jellingham in West Bengal's Purba Medinipur district. The total investment for this project would be ₹210 crore (US$31 million) in West Bengal, and commercial production would begin from 2014. It will manufacture, sell, market, distribute and export railway wagons, including high-end specialised wagons, wagon prototypes, fabricated components/parts of railway vehicles, rehabilitation of industrial locomotives, etc., for the domestic market.

Ownership and management

The Government of India owns about 75% of SAIL's equity and retains voting control of the Company. However, SAIL, by virtue of its Maharatna status, enjoys significant operational and financial autonomy.

Mr. P.K Singh is the current chairman of SAIL. Prior to this, P.K Singh took over as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Durgapur Steel Plant in 2012. Earlier in July 2015, he was given the additional charge of CEO of IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur (West Bengal). An alumnus of IIT-Roorkee, he started his career in SAIL at its Bokaro Steel Plant in 1980. Singh also worked in IISCO Steel Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant, Bokaro Steel Plant and Bhilai Steel Plant.

Operations

As of 31-Mar-2015, SAIL has 93,352 employees, as compared to 170,368 (as of 31-Mar-2002). There has been a continuous reduction of headcount over the past few years due to enhanced productivity and rationalised manpower.

The total requirement of its main raw material, iron ore, is met through its captive mines. To meet its growing requirement, capacities of existing iron ore mines are being expanded and new iron ore mines are being developed. In addition, new iron ore deposits in the states of Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Karnataka are being explored. Around 24% of its coking coal requirements are met from domestic sources, the remaining through imports. For improving coking coal security, the Company is also making efforts for development of new coking coal blocks at Tasra and Sitanalla.

SAIL produced 13.9 million tonnes of crude steel by operating at 103% of its installed capacity, which is an increase of 1% over the previous year. It also generated 710 MW of electricity during FY2014-15.

Achievements

Source:

Of the 33 Prime Minister's Shram Awards announced for 2010 by the Ministry of Labour, Government of India,17 of which went to PSUs, SAIL employees won 11 awards. Of the total number of 76 awardees for the year, 45 belong to SAIL – a remarkable distinction for any organisation. Maharatna SAIL has received the prestigious Golden Peacock Environment Management Award for the year 2011. The award, in recognition of SAIL's initiatives and achievements in the field of environment management, was presented by Union Minister for Home Affairs Shri P. Chidambaram on 24 June 2011

74 of a total of 128 awardees who have won the prestigious Vishwakarma Rashtriya Puraskar (VRP) are from SAIL. The 15 out of 28 awards won by SAIL went to our 74 employees for the performance year 2008. Bhilai Steel Plant won 7 such awards involving 36 employees, Bokaro Steel Plant won 6 awards involving 29 employees. Durgapur Steel Plant and Salem Steel Plant both won 1 award each involving five and four employees respectively. SAIL employees have won 4 out of 5 awards of Class A, which is the highest number of A Class awards won by any PSU in India.

Future Plans

SAIL, is in the process of modernising and expanding its production units, raw material resources and other facilities to maintain its dominant position in the Indian steel market. The aim is to increase the production capacity from the base level production of 14.6 MT per annum (2006–07) to 26.2 MT per annum of Hot Metal.

The following table shows the increased production of various items prior to and post expansion.

On 25 May 2012, Steel Authority of India Limited entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of West Bengal and Burn Standard Company Ltd. for setting up of a Railway Wagon factory of approximately ₹210 crore (US$31 million). This project will create an approximate 75,300 jobs.

The company also looking to establish one full capacity integrated plant in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana and surveying the possibilities to set up the plant. The plant, which was proposed to be the first steel plant of such scale in the state, was estimated to get an investment of Rs. 4,400 crore.