BENGALURU: The obsolete machinery at the Visvesvaraya Steel plant will soon be replaced with better ones to help the plant recover from accumulated losses of Rs 270 crore, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh said on Friday.
The minister announced that talks were on with the Karnataka government for a makeover for the steel plant as well as the Kudremukh Iron Ore Company Ltd.
After the new machinery is in place, production targets will be increased from 0.40 million tonnes of steel to 1 million tonnes, Singh said.
The Kudremukh Iron Ore Company, which is one of the best pellet plants in the country, will undergo changes too. Singh feels that if the plants get captive mines for themselves, they can come out of the losses they have faced over the last few years.
Singh also highlighted that the government plans to introduce the use of domestically manufactured iron and steel in Central and state government projects like highways, bridges, railways and construction.
Steel and iron from other countries can be used only if that grade of material required is not available in India or if the quantity is insufficient, he said.
A major problem India’s steel and iron industry is facing is sourcing adequate supply of coking coal and high-end steel, the minister said adding that 80 per cent of coking coal used in India is imported.
Singh also stressed that in a few years, India will be a leader in car production, which will require high-quality steel. He said, “India should make sure that high-quality steel be a substantial part of the country’s product line-up. That would save the country a lot of foreign currency.”
INDIA’S STEEL TARGET