Steel Authority of India (SAIL) is a steel manufacturing enterprise owned and operated by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India.

Ever since its establishment on 24 January 1973,  it has had over 65,807 employees. With an annual production of 16.30 million metric tons, it is the 20th largest steel firm in the world and the largest in India.

Smt Soma Mondal is the current Chairman of SAIL beginning her tenure with effect from April 1 2021

This article will give details about Steel Authority of India (SAIL) within the context of the IAS Exam.

History of SAIL

Steel Authority of India can trace its origins back to the Hindustan Steel Limited (HSL) which was set up on 19 January 1954. It was intended to manage only one plant being set up in Rourkela.

For Bhilai and Durgapur Steel Plants, the preliminary work was done by the Iron and Steel Ministry. From April 1957, the supervision and control of these two steel plants were also transferred to Hindustan Steel. The registered office was originally in New Delhi. It moved to Calcutta in July 1956, and ultimately to Ranchi in December 1959.

In order to better manage the steel industry, the Ministry of Steel and Mines drafted a policy statement to set up a new model for managing the industry. The draft of the policy statement was presented to the Parliament on 2 December 1972

Based on the policy draft, the concept of creating inputs and outputs under one roof was formulated. Thus the Steel Authority of India Ltd took shape. With an authorized capital of ₹2,000 crore the SAIL was incorporated on 24 January 1973. It’s first responsibility is managing five integrated steel plants at Bhilai, Bokaro, Durgapur, Rourkela and Burnpur. In 1978 SAIL was restructured as an operating company.

Find more notes of national and international importance by visiting the current affairs page.

For the latest context on the Steel Authority of India visit the video at (11:09) minutes.

Units of the Steel Authority of India

The following table gives details about the various SAIL Units throughout India:

SAIL Integrated Steel Plants

UnitState

Refractory Plants – SAIL Refractory Unit (SRU)

To know more in detail about the National Steel Policy of India, visit the linked article

Facts about SAIL

• As of 31 March 2015, SAIL has 93,352 employees, as compared to 170,368 (as of 31 March 2002)
• The total requirement of its main raw material, iron ore, is met through its captive mines. To meet its growing requirement, capacities of existing iron ore mines are being expanded and new iron ore mines are being developed.
• SAIL produced 13.9 million tonnes of crude steel by operating at 103% of its installed capacity, which is an increase of 1% over the previous year. It also generated 710 MW of electricity during FY 2014-15.

Future Plans for Steel Authority of India

SAIL is in the process of modernising and expanding its production units, raw material resources and other facilities to maintain its dominant position in the Indian steel market. The aim is to increase the production capacity from the base level production of 14.6 MT per annum (2006–07) to 26.2 MT per annum of hot metal.

The following table shows the increased production of various items prior to and post expansion.

On 25 May 2012, Steel Authority of India Limited entered into a Memorandum of Understanding with the Government of West Bengal and Burn Standard Company Ltd. for setting up a Railway Wagon factory of approximately ₹210 crore. This project will create an approximate 75,300 jobs.

The company is also looking to establish one full capacity integrated plant in Andhra Pradesh or Telangana and surveying the possibilities to set up the plant. The plant, which was proposed to be the first steel plant of such scale in the state, was estimated to get an investment of Rs. 4,400 crore.

Steel Authority of India – UPSC Notes:- Download PDF Here

For more information about upcoming Government Exams, visit the linked article. More exam-related preparation materials will be found through the links given below:

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