In a rare show of unity, all the rival unions of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited represented to the Ministry of Steel to merge the Visakhapatnam-based company with National Mineral Development Corporation.
The grand merger of two Navratna companies under the control of the same ministry would be looked into, said MoS Secretary Rakesh Singh during an interaction with the union leaders here after a visit to various production facilities at Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.
Sources told The Hindu that Mr. Singh did not commit on the unions’ plea to stop disinvestment of RINL saying he was new to the ministry and whatever was good in public interest, he would fight for it. He is also understood to have told the unions that RINL with its grandiose plans for becoming the largest steel producer at a single location had a bright future.
NMDC, headquartered at Hyderabad, is the country’s largest iron ore producer and exporter with production of over 30 million tonne from three fully mechanised mines in Chhattisgarh and Karnataka. It also owns Panna diamond mines in Madhya Pradesh.
Major producerRINL is the only major steel producer which suffers for want of raw material security.
It spends a huge amount on sourcing iron ore and coal. Now with the completion of Rs.12,500-crore 6.3 million tonne expansion, RINL’s raw material requirement will be doubled.
Many argue that as NMDC is also foraying into steel production, RINL expertise will help it if both the companies are merged. RINL, though faces cash crunch, has a huge land bank, 25,000 acres to be precise.
MoS Joint Secretary Lokesh Chandra was also present during the discussions. Union leaders D. Adinarayana, Bose Babu (AITUC), Mantri Rajasekhar, N. Ramachandra Rao (INTUC), N. Rama Rao, J. Simhachalam (CITU) and others were present.