In a stern warning, Steel Minister Birendra Singh has asked PSUs, including
SAIL, to "perform or perish" saying complacency cannot be tolerated at a time when private
players are excelling on various parameters.
Chairing a meeting of chiefs of top steel PSUs, the minister pulled up public sector firms like
SAIL and RINL for not only lagging behind on international benchmarks, but were behind
their private counterparts and complacent in ramping up capacities.
"In production and productivity parameters, PSUs are far behind their counterparts in private
sector. In terms of international benchmarks, performance of Indian steel companies is very
poor," Singh told PSU top brasses as per the ministry sources.
Providing specific example, the minister said domestic steel giant SAIL could barely achieve
blast furnace productivity at 1.7 tonnes per cubic meter per day (tpcm/d) in contrast to over
2.5 tpcm/d by private counterparts and global standards of over 3 tpcm/d.
Also indicting SAIL for slow progress in modernisation as well as ramping up of capacity, the
minister said deadlines were missed one after another which cannot be tolerated anymore,
according to the ministry sources.
Singh, who assumed charge of the Ministry some seven months back also warned, "Nonperformance
can not be accepted".
It is a question of survival "and stressed steel PSUs need to be proactive, not reactive" as it is "a do or die situation" and they "work in
perform or perish mode to retain competitive edge".
Irked at delays in all major projects, the minister announced that the Secretary Steel will finalise a mechanism to strictly assess individual
performances as per outputs by the top brass.
Harsh on nonperformers, Singh went on to the extent that six individual performance of all top management officials will be assessed
based on outcomes, and they will be made responsible for nonachievement of deliverables.
Source: Economic Times