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| Our financials are strong: SAIL chief |
| Business Standard / New Delhi Sep 13, 2009, 00:11 IST |
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S K Roongta, chairman of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), says they have made good use of operational autonomy. Excerpts::
Did your Navratna status change the way you operate?
The major impact has been empowering the board for all capital expenditure where government aid is not sought. And on joint ventures and mergers & acquisitions.
For instance, when SAIL had a downtrend from 1999 to 2002, we converted our captive power plants into a joint venture with NTPC. It brought in cash and also helped us in their maintenance.
Similarly, we entered new joint ventures to produce slag-based cement, which ensures long-term disposal of solid wastes and adds value.
You have a business head for each steel plant. Has this made you more efficient?
The business heads of our five integrated steel plants are full-time members of the board; we also have full-time directors. The powers given to the boards have been delegated to the business heads; head office is concerned with policy formulation and overseeing the functions. For day to day operations and operating efficiencies, the chief executive of each of the plants is accountable; he does not have to look and wait for approval from the head office.
If you compared SAIL with global steel companies, what are your strengths and weaknesses?
Our strength is the infrastructure we own, our committed human resources and the financial position — we are sitting on huge cash. Our weaknesses are that a large part of our technology is outdated and we still produce 30 per cent of steel through very inefficient methods. We also have a high cost of manpower.
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