SAIL REDUCES BORROWINGS

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LOK SABHA

The total saleable steel production by Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) during 2002-03 was 10.35 million tonnes. Within the year the total outstanding borrowings of the company were reduced from Rs. 14012 crore to about Rs. 13300 crore. Borrowings of SAIL consist of various components like working capital loans from banks, bonds, term loans, foreign loans, public deposits, SDF loans and housing loans which have different maturity/repayment dates and this is an ongoing process in a dynamic organisation.

SAIL has taken a number of steps to reduce outstanding loans. They are business restructuring envisaging divestment of non-core assets, intensive cost control, control on capital expenditure, market oriented product-mix resulting in better sales realization, prudent funds management, timely repayment of loans and replacing high cost loans with low cost ones.

This Information was given by the Minister of Steel, Shri Braja Kishore Tripathy in a written reply in the Lok Sabha today.