SAIL gives in-principle nod for 10 new units: minister

The board of Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has accorded in-principle approval for setting up 10 steel processing units in different states across the country, Parliament was informed today.

"There are 10 nos of steel processing units (SPUs) for which SAIL board has accorded "in-principle" approval and these are to be set up in different states," Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said in a reply to the Rajya Sabha.

The SPUs would be established in states like Bihar (Bettiah, Mahnar and Gaya), Assam (Guwahati), Uttar Pradesh (Lakhimpur), Jammu and Kashmir (Srinagar) and Himachal Pradesh (Kangra), the minister said.

The SAIL board has accorded final approval to the SPUs at Bettiah and Kangra for implementation, the minister said.

Verma also said that at present, there wasn't any proposal for setting up an SPU in Chhattisgarh.

"There is no proposal at present for any (SPU) to be set up in the state of Chhattisgarh," the minister said.

At the beginning of the year, the minister had said the Maharatna firm was examining the prospects of setting up a steel processing unit in Uttar Pradesh.

"SAIL will be examining the feasibility of setting up a steel processing unit at Barabanki/Gonda," he had said while reviewing the progress of the ongoing revival work at the PSU's Jagdishpur unit.