Union minister H D Kumaraswamy directs Visakhapatnam Steel Plant to increase production capacity

New Delhi: Steel Minister H D Kumaraswamy on Wednesday directed the officials of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd - RNIL) to increase the production capacity and assured to extend financial assistance to the company.

The Minister held a meeting with top officials of the company to make the plant profitable and financially rejuvenate the company.

Instructing the officials to increase steel production to lift the financially struggling organisation, the minister also took detailed information about the company's activities, financial status, production, and new initiatives from the officials.

The Minister directed the state run company officials to focus on increasing production and capacity and assured that plans will be made to provide financial support to the company., a statement from the Minister office said.

Pointing out that Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set a target of producing 300 million tonnes of steel annually, the Minister said that to achieve this target there is a need to increase the production capacity of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.

Noting the competition posed by China in the steel sector, the Minister highlighted the need to strengthen the domestic steel industry. Emphasis should be placed on the production of specialty steel and green steel. The plant needs to enhance its technical and financial capabilities to meet these challenges. The minister requested a comprehensive proposal for the plant's revival, said the statement.

The meeting was attended by Bhupatiraju Srinivas Verma, Minister of State Heavy Industries and Steel; Nagendra Nath Sinha, Secretary of the Steel Ministry; Sukriti Likhi, Additional Secretary; Amrendra Prakash, Chairman of the Indian Steel Authority; Atul Bhatt, Chairman and Managing Director of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, along with senior officials.

A couple of days ago, a delegation led by Andhra Pradesh BJP state president and MP, D Purandeswari met the Union Minister and submitted a memorandum to revival of the Visakhapatnam Steel Plant.