SAIL TARGETS NEW MARKETS IN ITS TURNAROUND STRATEGY
The
Public Sector Steel Authority of India (SAIL) under the Ministry of Steel
has entered into new areas in its ‘Turnaround Strategy in order to combat
the current depressed conditions of the steel market. These four new areas
are: Agricultural implements and farm machinery; Storage bins and silos;
Sugar mills and molasses storage tanks and Farm-housing, sheds and roofing.
SAIL will however maintain its overall emphasis on its traditional products.
Durgapur Steel Plant is producing agro-grade SAE 1070 concast billets
for making tractor-discs. At present, tractor disc manufacturers are using
high carbon steel billets from imported or indigenous sources. Instead
of using the arc furnace route for producing such billets, as is usually
done, SAIL has developed a process through the BOF-CC route which can produce
cost effective high carbon (0.65% – 0.75%) concast billets of 100x100 mm
size. These billets are normally further cross-rolled to 3mm/4.5mm thick
tractor discs at the manufacturer’s factory depending on the requirement
and design. Durgapur Steel Plant despatched around 2 thousand tonnes of
billets in 1997-98 and 3.3 thousand tonnes of billets in April’98 – June’98
to Karnal Agricultural Industries.
FIVE NEW INDO-FRENCH PROJECTS IN MINING
India and France have identified
five new projects in the mining sector amounting to about 49 million French
Francs and these would be taken up under the next Indo-French Financial
Protocol.
The 12th Meeting of the Indo-French Working Group on Mineral
Exploration and Development was held recently in Paris. The Group discussed
several new projects and identified the following five new projects to
be taken up on priority basis:
-
Impact Assessment of mining activities in the Subarnarekha River Basin
of Geological Survey of India;
-
Pilot project for strengthening natural hazard assessments in India of
Geological Survey of India;
-
Supply of one electron probe microanalyser to Geological Survey of India.
-
Supply of laboratory equipment of physico-chemical characterisation of
minerals at Indian Bureau of Mines; and
-
Transfer of know-how for the assessment and economic evaluation of the
mineral potential of Kerala State and technical assistance for the upgradation
of the facilities of the Department of Mining & Geology, Govt. of Kerala.
The Indian side was represented by Shri B.B. Tandon,
Secretary, Department of Mines. The Working Group also reviewed the five
ongoing projects and noted that four of the projects are successfully closing
this year. It noted that one project will be completed by March 2000.
GIFT RICE HANDED OVER TO BANGLADESH
The first rake of gift rice
was handed over to Bangladesh at Darshana railway station (Bangladesh)
yesterday on behalf of Government of India by a team of Central Government
officers headed by Shri K.M. Sahini, Joint Secretary, Ministry of Food
& Consumer Affairs. The second rake will be handed over to the Government
of Bangladesh today.
The Government of India has supplied 20, 000 tonnes
of par boiled non-basmati rice as a gift to Bangladesh for the flood relief
requirements of the country