PM PRESENTS 2000-01 PM'S TROPHY
FOR THE BEST INTEGRATED STEEL PLANT TO TATA STEEL
The Prime Minister's
Trophy to the best integrated steel plant in India for the year
2000-01 was bagged by the Tata Iron & Steel Company Ltd.,
Jamshedpur (Tata Steel). The Company has bagged the trophy since
its inception for the 4th time and 3rd time
in succession. Shri B.Muthuraman Managing Director, Tata Iron
and Steel Company Ltd. and Shri R.B.B. Singh, President of Tata
Steel Workers' Union, Jamshedpur received the Trophy from the
Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee in a function held here
today. The Trophy carries a cash award of Rs. 1 crore to be utilized
for the benefit of the employees of the plant.
The Prime Minister
congratulated the management and the workers of Tata Steel and
said that TISCO stands not only for excellence but also for sustained
excellence in the field of Iron and Steel. It is the pride of
India because it is one of the pioneers of indigenous industrialisation
in India. The fact that it would soon be celebrating a century
of its existence shows the long road it has traversed. He said
that Jamsetji Tata faced the challenges posed by the British people
and ventured to produce steel rails in his mill. Tata Steel has
succeeded in growing from strength to strength and has transformed
itself into a modern and globally competitive company.
Shri Vajpayee
said that Indian Steel Industry has been a major beneficiary of
global markets. Last year was a bumper year for steel exports.
This has helped remove the recession in our steel industry. Some
of the steel plants in the country have not only adopted international
best practices and benchmarks in terms of quality and costs, but
have improved upon them. This has been possible because these
companies have systematically planned for global competition and
made it a part of their organisational culture.
The PM assured
one and all that protection and promotion of the interests of
the Indian agriculture, Indian industry and Indian service enterprises
and creation of employment by them is the primary aim of economic
reforms. He said "We are alert and active whenever out industry
is subjected to unfair measures in global markets." The
Government has been intervening strongly in support of the Indian
steel industry in the case of the difficulties that it has been
facing in some markets in the name of anti-dumping. He called
upon the steel producers to focus on the changing needs of both
domestic and international customers and produce the right kind
of materials for every segment. They should intensify the search
for new and unconventional markets.
PM stressed on
high value steel products in international markets. He was happy
to note that India is emerging as a global leader in the outsourcing
of automobile components. He emphasised on research and development
for sustaining the industry's growth momentum. He said that the
steel industry should develop without jeopardizing the well-being
of the coming generations.
Speaking on the occasion
the Minister for Steel Shri Braja Kirshore Tripathy praised the
Tata Steel for their wonderful performance. He said that it is
a tribute to Indian entrerpreneurship that TISCO is one of the
lowest cost producers of steel in the world. Hinting at the changed
steel scenario, he said that the industry had come out of the
depression it had been facing for more than 3 years. Today there
is optimism and all round improvement both in production and financial
performance. India continues to be net exporter of steel and today
occupies the eighth position in steel production and the first
position in sponge iron production in the world.
Domestic steel prices,
he said, have firmed up in the face of improved demand-both domestic
and foreign. Better price realization has led to an improvement
in the financial performance of most of the Indian steel plants.
This has resulted in the revival of the economic growth and the
recovery of key end-user sectors of steel. With the continued
focus on infrastructure development and construction activities
including housing- the industry's mood is upbeat. Steel production
and consumption during 2002-03 have increased by 7.2 per cent
and 5.3 per cent respectively as compared to 2001-02 while exports
have shown a healthy growth of 36.8 per cent in spite of protective
measures taken by several countries.
The Minister said
that the performance of public sector steel plants has also shown
substantial improvement this year. Production and sale of steel
by Steel Authority of India Limited has shown a growth of 7 per
cent and 5.3 percent respectively. On current performances, it
is expected that SAIL will turn around this year. Similarly, Vishakhapatnam
Steel Plant has registered a growth of 9 per cent in the steel
production and has recorded for the first time a net profit of
Rs. 450 crore. All the PSU's of Steel Ministry put together have
redocrded an increase of Rs. 2000 crore in profitablity during
2002-03 over the previous year. Due to PM's initiatives, the Railway
and Union Budge 2003-04 have proposed measures congenial to the
iron and steel sector. He also outlined the measures taken by
the Ministry to increase per capita steel consumption in the country
in the urban and rural areas.
Shri Tripathy said
that during the post-liberalisation period 19 green field projects
with capacity of 13 million tonnes and investment of Rs. 34,000
crore were envisaged. Out of these, so far 9 units with capacity
of 6 million tonnes per annum have been commissioned and the remaining
are under various stages of completion.
A century old Tata
Steel founded by the illustrious industrialist Shri Jamsetji Nusserwanji
Tata, has stood the test of time. It has successfully combined
business success with service to the society. It is traditional
in its value system and modern in its business approach. It is
continuously improving its performance and satisfying its various
stakeholders. It has enhanced its competitive position and today
ranks amongst the most globally competitive steel plants in the
world. The company has created a special work culture with its
talented people who work as a team.
The PM's trophy was
instituted in the year 1992-93. The primary objective of the scheme
is to generate a sense of competition among the integrated steel
plants so that the plants can continuously compare themselves
with the best and try to improve upon their performance indices.
The selection
of the best integrated steel plant is done on the basis of a predetermined
scheme by a panel of judges comprising of eminent technologists,
economists, consumers of steel and workers' representatives.
