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| Steel min asks SAIL to complete expansion on time |
| Press Trust of India / New Delhi Aug 18, 2009, 20:23 IST |
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Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh today asked the country's largest steel producer, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), to complete its ongoing Rs 70,000-crore expansion programme on time, citing the surge in domestic steel demand.
"The economy looks set for a rebound... This will translate into decent demand growth for steel in the near future," Singh said adding, this was the appropriate time to achieve the targeted production capacity of 23 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) by 2012 from the present 14 MTPA.
While appreciating the first quarter performance of the steel giant during a review meeting, he said the recessionary trend would settle down in the next few quarters. The steel major reported a 27.7 per cent decline in net profit at Rs 1,326 crore for the April-June quarter.
However, the steel ministry indicted the steel maker over a drop of 201 per cent in its expenses on Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities during the first quarter of the current fiscal over the fourth quarter of the last fiscal.
"Out of the budget of Rs 80 crore, the company has been able to spend Rs 10.83 crore during the first quarter, which is a drop of 201 per cent on sequential basis and a drop of 60 per cent to first quarter of the last fiscal," he said.
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