Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited or Midhani, the Defence Ministry public sector metallurgy unit, after having supplied the special steel for the Indian Railways’ iconic ‘Vande Bharat’ trains is ready to supply special steel alloy and aluminium metal sheets, rings and others material for the construction of new generation railway and metro rail coaches for various projects.
“Our products have been developed indigenously. They are light weight, have high-tensile strength and are corrosive-resistant, therefore, they are the right fit for the requirements of the Indian Railways and metro rail projects being built across the country,” said Chairman and Managing Director S.K. Jha, in an exclusive interaction.
The publicly listed unit has recently supplied about 400 axles for the modern trains which were earlier being imported from China and is now bidding for the bigger numbers to the tune of about 18,000 axles for the tender floated by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) of the Railways in Chennai
“Our metal is being used to build fighter jets, helicopters, missiles and submarines. Hence, our credentials and capabilities are proven as well as trusted. We are ready to supply higher grade of steel for the railways which will be more durable and give a better finish. We are working with the Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) for better data to improve our collaboration,” he said.
Dr. Jha disclosed that the Container Corporation of India (Concor) had signed an agreement to source the entire train set to be manufactured from the special alloy metal to be supplied by Midhani. “There is no need to source material for making metro rail coaches from abroad for projects here. We are capable of supplying the required metal for any metro rail firm in the country with necessary regulatory approvals and certifications,” he asserted.
While Midhani’s certifications come from strategic aero-space, nuclear and defence sectors, different sets of approvals are needed for railways as the public sector unit has to join the bid process like any other firm.
Hastelloy
In fact, the company has supplied ‘hastelloy’ – a nickel based alloy launched last year to thermal power stations to reduce the emission of sulphur-dioxide, a major pollutant. The Union Power Ministry has stipulated all thermal power plants across the country to install the metal to reduce pollution of So2 along with carbondioxide by 2025. “Only three other countries have mastered this manufacturing technology. We have built a new plate mill for the alloy and having discussions with BHEL, L&T and others. We are also looking to exports,” said the CMD.
The defence PSU is also planning to request the Telangana government for suitable land at Adibatla where several aero-space industries have set up base to have its own manufacturing and distribution unit as it has the wherewithal to supply the required metal alloys, added Dr. Jha.
