Govt pulls up slow SAIL; asks to raise Bhilai rail mill output

Expressing displeasure over SAIL's slow progress in crucial areas of strategic importance, Union Steel Minister Chaudhary Birender Singh has asked the company to increase output from its new rail mill in Bhilai and meet all the requirements of its major customers.
"SAIL must ramp up production from New Rail Mill in Bhilai without wasting any more time...," a Ministry of Steel statement quoted Singh as saying, today.
In order to meet the rising demand of the railways, the minister said the PSU should chalk out a time bound action plan.
"SAIL must take its joint ventures at international level to logical conclusion at the earliest," the minister said.

He made the comments while chairing a mid-year review meeting with top management of SAIL at Udyog Bhawan yesterday.
"Company(SAIL) must leverage its position in the industry, instead of not being able to fulfil its commitments and agreements," he added.

Singh also directed the management of SAIL to submit quarterly plans and targets, which would be reviewed after every three months.
In order to get a direct feedback about constraints and bottlenecks, Singh would meet CEOs and EDs of SAIL's steel plants in November.
"The CEOs have to understand their direct accountability and responsibility for performance of the Unit under their charge," the minister added.

Singh asked the country's largest steel maker to ensure raw material security in order to avoid the vagaries of coal supplies currently plaguing the PSU.
Stressing that accidents in the plants must be reduced the minister said, "safety should be a prime focus of all the plant heads and stress should be given on repair and regular maintenance to avoid unforeseen breakdowns, downtime and resulting loss of production".
SAIL, he said, should explore possibilities to develop new markets by adopting new technology and adding value-added products to its basket.
"SAIL should also focus on product differentiation to create value for the shareholders, thereby creating an exclusive space for the company," the minister said.

In order to meet the requirements of the customers and improve the financial performance of the PSU, the focus should be on efficiency improvement and product quality improvement at individual plant level.