Question : Performance of SAIL

(a) whether the Government has directed Public Sector Undertakings of steel including Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) to improve their performance on various parameters as against private companies and if so, the details thereof;

(b) whether the Public Sector Undertakings are not only lagging behind the international benchmarks, but are also behind their private counterparts and are indifferent towards tapping their potentials; and

(c) if so, the corrective steps taken/proposed to be taken by the Government in this regard and the progress made so far?

THE MINISTER OF STEEL (SHRI DHARMENDRA PRADHAN)

(a)to(c): There are two steel manufacturing Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in India namely, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL).

The Government reviews and evaluates Steel CPSEs on the basis of their own performance on various parameters in the MoUs as entered into by them with the Ministry of Steel.

Most of the integrated steel plants in the Public Sector under Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) were set up in 1960s and 1970s except Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP) of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) which was set up in 1990s. Some of the technologies and equipments adopted therein have since become old and obsolete. Both the steel CPSEs have undertaken modernization/expansion programmes to, inter-alia, address the problems of technological obsolescence.

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