- A function was held in New Delhi on December 28, 2018 to commemorate the 60th year of steel production by SAIL. The function was addressed by Union Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh.
- Chaudhary Birender Singh outlined four mantras for SAIL: Speed, Aggression, Innovation and Loyalty.
- He said the Ministry will observe one day of the year as Safety Day for the steel sector from 2019.
SAIL and Development
- The first furnace of Rourkela Steel Plant began functioning in 1959 setting the foundation for building India’s economic development. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) today is a Maharatna company and the largest steel producer and also the highest iron ore miner in India.
- Steel is a deregulated sector and SAIL operates in open economy producing 21.4 Million Tonne Steel per annum and contributing 1.5 times of India’s GDP and 6.8 times to employment generation.
- National Steel Policy 2017 has set ambitious target of 300 MT steel capacity by 2030-31 and SAIL with 1/6thof the proposed capacity is going to be a key contributor. However, all this must be done in a systematic and planned way.
- Each Plant and Unit has to adopt the culture of ‘Safety First’.
- Steel produced by SAIL is used for railway tracks, defence grade steel for construction of Arjun battle tank and India’s space programme of Chandrayaan and Mangalyaan also use SAIL steel.
- SAIL supplied around 35400 metric tonnes of steel for the construction of recently inaugurated India’s longest bridge – Bogibeel Road-cum-Rail Bridge on the river Brahmaputra. This quantity is little more than 50% of the total quantity of steel supplied for the bridge.
- SAIL supplied TMT rebars, plates and structural for this 4.94 KM long bridge, which has composite welded steel truss girders in its structures. Earlier, SAIL had supplied 90% steel for the construction of the Dhola-Sadiya bridge. SAIL’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities supports education sports and tribal population of 8 states.
