Rashtriya Ispat on major drive to up capacity

'Navaratna' public sector steelmaker Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is aiming at raising its capacity to 11 million tonnes per annum by 2015 from the current 3 mtpa now. It is initiating steps to set up plants in four states including Orissa and has pumped in about Rs50000 crore for expansion and modernisation.

"The company has embarked upon expansion and modernisation projects to increase its capacity to 7.3 mtpa at a cost of Rs 20,000 crore by 2013," RINL chairman and managing director P K Bishnoi told reporters in the Orissa capital Bhubaneshwar. Another Rs25,000 crore would be invested for further expansion in order to add 4 mtpa to raise the total capacity up to over 11 mtpa by 2015 using completely new technology, he said, adding nearly Rs 10,000 crore had already been spent on new projects.

With some of the latest technology in India, RINL's Visakhapatnam Steel Plant is the first plant in the country to have 100 per cent continuous casting technology and biggest blast furnaces of 3200 cu m, Bishnoi said.

Bhishnoi, who was in Bhubaneshwar to a launch rural dealership scheme (RDS) to make steel available in interior areas, said the company has adopted the fastest wire rod mill, RH degasser and electromagnetic stirrer in its steel melt shop for production of high quality, cleaner steel.

Besides taking its Vizag plant to new heights, RINL is keen to set up new units in Orissa, Jharkhand, Rajasthan and Karnataka, he said, adding in Karnataka it would be a joint venture with Kudremukh Iron Ore Co Ltd, for which a memorandum of understanding has been signed. Talks are on with the states concerned for the proposed plants, he said, adding the sites would be decided depending on the availability of iron ore.

Raw material would not be a problem in mineral-rich Orissa, as the company has acquired a 51 per cent stake in Eastern Investment Ltd, the holding company for Orissa Mineral Development Corp and Bisra Stone Lime Co, Bishnoi said.

On RINL's rural dealership scheme, he said it is an endeavour to promote inclusive growth by making the products available to actual users in villages. People from scheduled castes, scheduled tribes, other backward classes, women and those from minority communities would be encouraged to register as rural dealers, he added.