Industry veteran P K Singh to steel SAIL’s performance
11 Dec 2015 5:49 AM IST
P K Singh, who was selected by government headhunter Public Enterprise Selection Board in September for the top post at SAIL, on Thursday took charge as the chairman of the domestic steel giant. “Prakash Kumar Singh, 57, has taken charge as Chairman, SAIL today,” SAIL said in a release. He will hold the post for three years till attaining 60 years of age, as the Chairman, according to the official order, holds the post for a period of five years or superannuation, whichever is earlier.
Singh had been serving as the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Durgapur Steel Plant since 2012. In July this year, he was given additional charge of CEO of IISCO Steel Plant, Burnpur (West Bengal). An alumnus of IIT-Roorkee, Singh started his career in SAIL at Bokaro Steel Plant in 1980. He also worked at IISCO Steel Plant, Durgapur Steel Plant and Bokaro Steel Plant.
Singh took over the baton from MSME Secretary Anup Pujari who held the additional charge of SAIL Chairman till Wednesday. In June, the Maharatna PSU had said that C S Verma had relinquished the charge as Chairman and Managing Director on completion of his tenure and Steel Secretary Rakesh Singh had assumed the charge till a regular chief was appointed. Verma was appointed CMD of the public sector undertaking (PSU) for a five-year term in June 2010 by previous UPA government and was eligible for an extension till he attained the superannuation age of 60 years in September 2019, which was not approved by the current NDA government.
After Rakesh Singh retired in September 2015, Pujari assumed the additional charge of Steel Ministry as well as the Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) of the country’s largest steel producer. A firm believer in employee empowerment and nurturing talents, P K Singh has undergone various specialised training programs in India and abroad. His motivational leadership is unique and beyond comparison. He has a natural flair for nurturing and cultivating innovation and out-of-the-box thinking. His business acumen in identifying new business opportunities for accelerated growth is commendable. Under his able leadership SAIL will gain new heights.
He has been conferred with various awards viz. ‘Jawahar’ award for outstanding performance at ISP, Burnpur. ‘Industry Leader’ award conferred by CMERI (CSIR), Durgapur, ‘Industry Leadership’ award conferred by the Institution of Engineers, Durgapur, ‘Best CEO’ award for the Eastern region conferred by the Quality Circle Forum of India, Durgapur Chapter.
Govt to fix minimum import price for steel products soon
The government is soon expected to fix a minimum import price (MIP) for steel products to protect the domestic industry from cheap inbound shipments.
The ministries of Commerce and Steel, which are discussing the matter, have proposed a floor price for over 30 products below which imports into the country would not be allowed, sources said.
“Both the ministries have been holding meeting since the last several days to finalise the number of items which should be included in the MIP list,” they said.
The steel ministry had asked for 35 to 40 products including pig iron, semi-finished products and cold-rolled coils. But the Commerce Ministry has asked them to prune the list.
The move comes amidst the domestic steel industry facing a tough situation due to cheap imports from countries such China, Japan, South Korea, and Russia among others.
The steel companies, which have taken huge loans for capacity expansion, are under severe stress as cheap imports are eating into their domestic share. The government’s move to impose MIP comes even as it is considering safeguard duty on certain steel imports.
SAIL, Essar Steel, JSW Steel and Jindal Steel & Power moved the Directorate General of Safeguard for imposing levy on imports of ‘hot-rolled flat sheets and plates of alloy or non-alloy steel’ to “protect the domestic producers” from increased imports.
In September, the government imposed a provisional safeguard duty of 20 per cent on import of hot-rolled flat products of non-alloy and other alloy steel, which was in vogue for 200 days.
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