Major Iron and Steel Plants of India

Major Iron and Steel Plants of India

Some of the major Iron and Steel Plants of India are as follows:

Tata Iron and Steel Company (TISCO):

          This is the oldest iron and steel centre of India. It is a private sector enterprise. It was established in 1907 by Jamshedji Tata at Sakchi in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand. Later on, it was renamed as Jamshedpur after Jamshedji. It started producing pig iron in 1911 and steel in 1912.
          The plant initially had capacity of producing 1.21 million tonnes of pig iron and 1.1 million tonnes of steel per annum. This capacity has been enhanced to 3.9 million tonnes of pig iron, 2 million tonnes of ingot steel and 3 million tonnes of saleable steel. Currently it produces about 3 million tonnes of saleable steel.

Following facilities are available to this centre:

(i) High grade haematite iron ore is available from Noamundi mines of Singhbhum in Jharkhand and Gurumahisani mines of Mayurbhanj in Orissa. These mines are located at a distance of 75-100 km from Jamshedpur.
(ii) Coal is available from Jharia and Raniganj coal mines located 160 to 200 km from Jamshedpur.
(iii) Manganese comes from Joda mines of Kendujhar district in Orissa.
(iv) Dolomite, limestone and fire clay used as flux material are available from Sundargarh district of Orissa.
v) Sufficient water for cooling purposes is obtained from Subamrekha River. In addition to this, the storage dam on Kharkai River also provides water.
(vi) Jamshedpur is well connected with Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai by road and rail and enjoys good transport facilities.
(vii) Densely populated regions of Jharkhand, Bihar and Orissa provide cheap labour. Major part of labour is drawn from tribal areas of Chota Nagpur plateau.

 Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO):

              Three plants at Kulti, Hirapur and Bumpur in West Bengal were set up in 1864, 1908 and 1937 respectively. These plants have been merged together and are known as Indian Iron and Steel Company (IISCO).
             It was brought under government control and management in July 1972. The three plants are linked by Kolkata-Asansol railway line. Hirapur plant produces pig iron which is sent to Kulti for making steel. The rolling mills are located at Bumpur.

IISCO enjoys the following advantages:

(i) Iron ore is available from Guna mines in Singhbhum district of Jharkhand located at a distance of 285 km. Some iron ore is also obtained from Mayurbhanj area of Orissa.
(ii) It used to receive coal from Jharia, located at a distance of 137 km but now the power from the Damodar Valley Corporation is extensively used.
(iii) Dolomite and limestone are obtained from Sundargarh district of Orissa which is 327 km away. Limestone is also available from Gangpur and Paraghat areas of Orissa.
(iv) Rail and road links connect it to Kolkata which is just 200 km away.
(v) Cheap labour is readily available from the neighbouring areas.
IISCO has annual capacity of producing 10 lakh tonnes of steel. Currently it produces over 4 lakh tonnes of pig iron, more than 3.5 lakh tonnes of crude steel and around 3.8 lakh tonnes of saleable steel.

The Visweswaraya Iron and Steel Ltd:

               It was established as Mysore Iron and Steel Company (MISCO) in 1923 by the erstwhile state of Mysore. It is located at Bhadravati on the banks of river Bhadravati in Shimoga district of Karnataka. This plant was brought under state control in 1962 and was renamed as Visveswaraya Iron and Steel Ltd. after the name of great engineer Dr. Visweswaraya. This plant has got a capacity of 1.38 lakh tonnes of steel. There are plans to raise its capacity to two lakh tonnes. 

This centre enjoys the following advantages

(i) Bhadravati valley is 13 km wide as a result of which enough land is available.

(ii) High grade haematite iron ore is brought from Kemmangundi mines in Chikmaglur which is just 40 km away.

(iii) At the time of the setting up of the plant in 1923 the charcoal obtained from the forest-wood was used for smelting because coal was not available. Now it uses hydroelectric power obtained from Sharavati Power Project.

(iv) Limestone is available from Bhundiguda just 25 km away.

(v) Shimoga and Chitradurga supply manganese. These areas are just 50 km away.

(vi) Dolomite and chromite are also available within a radius of 45-50 km.

(vii) It lies on the main Bim-Shimoga railway line and makes use of railway facilities.

               

                     In order to increase the production of iron and steel, the Government of India established The Hindustan Steel Limited in public sector. Consequently, three plants under the public sector, i.e. Bhilai, Rourkela and Durgapur came into operation during the Second Five Year Plan. Capacity of each plant was fixed at 10 lakh tonnes of steel which was expanded during the Third Five Year Plan and a proposal of setting up a steel plant at Bokaro was also made.

Bhilai:

                   Bhilai iron and steel centre was set up in Durg district of Chhattisgarh in 1957 with the technical and financial support of the then Soviet Union. It started production in 1959. Its initial capacity was 10 lakh tonnes which has been raised to 52 lakh tonnes.

                Durg happens to be a backward area and the purpose of setting this plant was to bring prosperity to this area. This plant produced 41.87 lakh tonnes of crude steel, 38.32 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 2.43 lakh tonnes of pig iron in 1996- 97.

 It enjoys following geographical advantages:

(i) It procures rich haematite iron ore from Dalli-Rajhara range which is 80 km south of Bhilai.

(ii) Coal is obtained from Korba and Kargali fields of Chhattisgarh located at 225 km away. Bokaro and Jharia (720 km) also supply coal.

(iii) Limestone comes from Nandini mines hardly 24 km away.

(iv) Bhandara of Maharashtra and Balaghat of Madhya Pradesh supply manganese.

(v) The Korba Thermal Power station is the main source of power.

(vi) It is connected with Kolkata-Nagpur railway line.

(vii) Dolomite comes from Bilaspur.

(viii) Cheap labour is available from the nearby areas.

Rourkela:

                  Plant of Hindustan Steel Limited at Rourkela is situated in the Sundargarh district of Orissa It was set up with the help of the then West German firm, Krupps and Demang, during t e Second Five Year Plan (West Germany and East Germany have united to form one country now). It became operative in 1959. It produced 12.40 lakh tonnes of crude steel, 11.80 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 0.54 lakh tonnes of pig iron in 1996-97. 

This plant has the following facilities for its successful operation:

 (i) This plant uses iron ore obtained from Sundargarh and Keonjhar districts. These iron ore sources are located within a distance of 77 km from the site of the plant.

(ii) Coal is obtained from Jharia coalfields located at a distance of 225 km and Talcher, located at a distance of 169 km.

(iii) Hydro-electric power is obtained from Hirakud Power Project, located at a distance of 150 km.

(iv) The plant receives manganese from Barajmda, dolomite from Baradwar and limestone from Pumapani. These materials are located within a radius of 222 km in Orissa.

(v) It is located on the main Nagpur-Kolkata railway line and enjoys facilities of railway transport.

(vi) Kolkata provides the port facilities and its hinterland serves as market.

Durgapur:

                   This plant of The Hindustan Steel Ltd. is located at Durgapur in Bardhaman district of West Bengal. It was set up in 1959 with the help of the United Kingdom. The production started in 1962. It has a total capacity of 35 lakh tonnes. It produced 12.45 lakh tonnes of crude steel, 10.93 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 1.14 lakh tonnes of saleable pig iron in 1996-97.

                 The Alloy Steel Plant at Durgapur has a capacity to produce 1.6 lakh tonnes of ingots steel which has been expanded to 2. lakh tonnes of crude steel. 

The following geographical factors favour its location and growth.

(i) Iron ore comes from Bolani mines. Mayurbhanj also supplies iron ore. These areas are located within a radius of 320 km.

(ii) Coal comes from Jharia and Raniganj.

(iii) Limestone is obtained from Birmitrapur in Sundargarh and manganese from Keonjhar district of Orissa.

(iv) Dolomite is supplied by Birmitrapur.

(v) Hydroelectricity is available from Damodar Valley Corporation.

(vi) Plenty of water is available from Durgapur Barrage built across Damodar River.

(vii) The Kolkata-Asansol railway line links it with other parts of the country.

(viii) Cheap labour is readily available from the surrounding areas.

Bokaro:

              A new public sector company, the Bokaro Steel Ltd. was formed in 1964 to erect a steel plant with the collaboration of the eartwhile Soviet Union at Bokaro near the confluence of the Bokaro and Damodar rivers in Hazaribagh district of Jharkhand. It is the second plant set up with the Soviet help. It started production in 1972. Its initial capacity was 10 lakh tonnes which was raised to 40 lakh tonnes.

                There are plans to raise its capacity to 100 lakh tonnes making it the largest iron and steel making centre in India. It produced 36.44 lakh tonnes of crude steel, 30.46 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 2.6 lakh tonnes of pig iron in 1996-97. 

This achievement has been made possible due to following few geographical factors:

(i) It receives iron ore from Kiriburu mine in Orissa.

(ii) Coal is obtained from Jharia coalfields located at a distance of 65 km.

(iii) Limestone comes from Palamu district of Jharkhand.

(iv) Hydroelectricity is obtained from Damodar Valley Corporation.

(v) Kolkata is just 300 km from here and provides port facilities.

             Three more steel plants were planned during the Fourth Five-Year Plan in order to meet the growing requirement of steel. These plants are located at Salem in Tamil Nadu, Vishakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh and Vijayanagar in Karnataka.

The Salem Steel Plant:

             The plant has been set up at Salem in the Salem district of Tamil Nadu. The plant has the advantage of rich iron ore and limestone, which is readily available in the adjoining areas. It also enjoys the facilities of cheap power, charcoal and vast market. The iron ore available here has low sulphur and phosphorus content and is suitable for producing special grade iron and steel.

             The plant started commercial production in 1982. Its capacity was 32 thousand tonnes of stainless steel sheets in the beginning. This capacity was doubled in 1991 with the addition of another rolling mill. This capacity was further raised to 80 thousand tonnes of saleable steel in 1995-96.

Today the Salem Steel Plant is a major producer of world class stainless steel and is in a position to export stainless steel to some of the advanced countries such as the USA, Mexico, Australia and some countries of South-East Asia.

               In order to cater to the growing demand for coinage of the Indian Government Mints, the management had also set up a blanking facility in 1993 with a capacity of 3,000 tonnes per annum. It also commissioned a hot rolling facility in November, 1995 which has state-of-the-art technology with high level of automation. This plant produced 48 thousand tonnes of saleable steel in 1995-96.

Vijayanagar Steel Plant:

               This plant has been set up at Tomagal near Hospet in Bellary district of Karnataka. It has the installed capacity of 30 lakh tonnes. The production of mild steel will be its special feature. 

This plant enjoys the following facilities:

 (i) Iron ore is obtained from Hospet region located in close proximity.

(ii) Coal comes from Kanhan valley in Chhattisgarh and Singareni coal fields in Andhra Pradesh.

(iii) Good quality limestone and dolomite is available at a distance of about 200 km.

(iv) Water and power requirements are met by the Tungabhadra hydel project located at a distance of about 36 km from the plant.

Another steel plant at Paradwip is fast coming up.

Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP):

               This integrated steel plant has a unique location on the sea port. In fact, it is the first shore based steel plant in the country. Although the foundation stone of the plant was laid in 1972, the construction work could not start in the real sense till February 1982 when Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited was incorporated as a public sector company to implement the construction of the plant.

                The project has been completed in two stages: the first stage was completed by March 1992 and the second and final stage by July 1992. This is the most sophisticated modem integrated steel plant in the country. Though the production commenced in 1991-92, 1993-94 was the first full year of integrated operation.

                 In the year 1997-98, this plant produced 32.14 lakh tonnes of hot metal, 25.4 lakh tonnes of liquid steel, 22.5 lakh tonnes of saleable steel and 7.7 lakh tonnes of pig iron. It is a major export oriented steel plant and takes full advantage of its coastal location. In 1995-96, it exported 10.23 lakh tonnes of iron and steel worth Rs.702 crore, mainly to China and south-east Asian countries.

Currently holding 67th rank among 80 largest steel makers on the globe, as certified by the Brussels- based International Iron and Steel Institute, VSP is smooth-sailing towards reaching its goal of turning into a ‘world class company in steel industry’; as a result of the effective turnaround strategy adopted by its management for the last couple of years.

                  Buoyed by such a strong performance the VSP now intends to accelerate on the expansion trajectory. Presently it is the second largest producer of iron and steel in the country and the present annual capacity of three million tonnes of liquid steel can be raised to 5 million by 2006-07 and to 10 million tonnes by 2010.

                  The plant management intends to go in for massive upgradation of technology and skill of its personnel which will be required if the natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin is to be utilised to cut down cost. Import of metallurgical coal from Australia can be reduced considerably if proper arrangements for utilising natural gas from Krishna- Godavari basin are made. The natural gas requirement is placed at one billion cubic metres (BCM) a year and negotiations are in progress with the Reliance Group in this connection.

 The plant has the following advantages:

(i) The coastal location facilitates import of coal and export of iron and steel.

(ii) It is well connected to coal fields of Damodar valley in Jharkhand. Metallurgical coal is imported from Australia which meets about 70 per cent power requirements.

(iii) The plant has a bright future with respect to its energy requirements because there are plans to replace coal imported from Australia by natural gas from the Krishna-Godavari basin.

(iv) High quality rich iron ore deposits are available in the Bailadila area of Chhattisgarh.

(v) Most of the requirements of limestone, dolomite and manganese are met by supplies from Chhattisgarh; Madhya Pradesh and Orissa.

Daitari Steel Plant:

             A decision to set another steel plant at Daitari near Paradwip in Orissa has been taken. Initially, the plant was scheduled to be built by joint venture of British and South Korean companies but its responsibility has been given to the Tata group. The plant is expected to have capacity of producing 2.6 million tonnes of steel per annum.

Tata Steel Kalinganagar:

              Tata Steel will set up a six million plant at Kalinganagar in Orissa with an investment of Rs. 15,000 crore. Land for the project has been acquired and detailed project report has been prepared. The first phase of 3 million tonnes capacity will be completed in three and a half years.

          Along with this project, Tata Steel is going to build a port at Dharma in Orissa in a joint venture with Larsen & Toubro to handle 3,00,000 tonne ship. A Rs. 1,500 crore investment has been earmarked for the port to facilitate import of coal and export of finished goods.

Dolvi Steel Plant:

               A new steel plant is fast coming up at Dolvi in Ratnagiri district in Maharashtra. Being set up by the Ispat Industries Ltd., the plant will use new technology in steel making. The 3 million tonnes annual capacity hot rolled coil plant will be one of the most modern plants in the world. It will require less space, less energy, high labour productivity and will involve less cost of production. Producing thin strips will be a special quality of this plant.