Foreseeing strong demand for steel post-coronavirus: SAIL chairman

Our decision to rely on railways, and not roadways, to transport both raw material as well as finished products is bearing fruit, says Anil Kumar Chaudhary

With the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic disrupting domestic steel demand, Anil Kumar Chaudhary, chairman, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), has chalked out a strong business continuity plan to combat its impact. In a telephonic interview with Aditi Divekar, Chaudhary talks about lessons learnt from the crisis, and the demand outlook for steel in FY21. Edited excerpts:

SAIL has lowered production due to the pandemic, which has hit steel demand. What are the steps being taken to have a strong business continuity plan for FY21?

Firstly, we will be rationalising steel production according to the market demand. For this, blast furnaces