(a) whether the Steel Authority of India Ltd. (SAIL) has embarked upon a Joint Venture with any private company during the last five years;
(b) if so, the details thereof;
(c) whether any tenders were floated in this regard with special reference to Bokaro Steel Plant; and
(d) if so, the number of bidders and the process adopted for finalization of bids and indicating the results thereof?
MINISTER OF CHEMICALS & FERTILIZERS AND MINISTER OF STEEL (SHRI RAM VILAS PASWAN)
(a) & (b) Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) has entered into the following Joint Ventures during the last five years :
i) SAIL Bansal Service Centre Limited - with 40% equity participation by SAIL and 60% equity participation by BMW Industries Ltd., Kolkata.
ii) Metaljunction.com Private Limited- with both SAIL and TISCO holding 50% equity. The company has been set up to operate an independent e-Commerce Steel Marketplace to serve as a comprehensive online e-Marketplace for all manufacturers, dealers and users of steel and allied materials
(c) & (d) The selection of BMW Industries Limited as the Joint Venture partner of SAIL for the purpose of setting up a steel service centre at Bokaro was through the process of inviting `Expression of Interest` through an open press advertisement in which 61 parties had registered their interest. BMW Industries Limited were selected based on their experience in the field of operating service centre.