PERFORMANCE OF SAIL IN MAY

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The Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) a public sector undertaking of the Steel Ministry has produced 11.36 lakh stonnes of hot metal, 9.95 lakh tonnes of crude steel and 8.48 lakh tonnes of saleable steel during the month of May, 2003 against 10.29, 8.93 and 8.11lakh tonnes respectively in the month of May last year. The company sold 7.23 lakh tonnes of saleable steel during the month against 8.6 lakh tonnes during the same month last year. It exported 1.01 lakh tonnes of saleable steel during May 2003 against 57,000 tonnes during the same month in 2002. These figures include the production and sale by Indian Iron and Steel Company Limited (IISCO).

The techno-economic parameters of SAIL's operations have also shown gradual improvement. The coke rate in May, 2003 was reduced to 543 kg./thm as against 545 kg./thm achieved in May 2002. Overall energy consumption in SAIL was also brought down in the month of May 2003 to a level of 7.5 Gcal/Tcs as against 7.77 Gcal/Tcs in May 2002, recording an improvement of about 3 per cent. Blast Furnace productivity in SAIL plants stands at 1.51 T/CuM/day in May, 2003 recording an improvement of 13 per cent over the same period last year.