RINL earns navratna tag,SAIL a step away from maharatna

We presented that in 2007,2008,2009 we have been scoring well,therefore we should be given this empowerment. The most important aspect was that miniratna category 1 companies are empowered to sanction capital expenditure up to 100 per cent of their net worth subject to a ceiling of Rs 500 crore. We are miniratna category 1 and our ceiling was the same,while our net worth is more than Rs 12,000 crore. Therefore,our empowerment is only 5 per cent of our net worth,which was inadequate,because for our expansion,modernisation,executing major repairs,investment in power plants,etc,we need to take faster decisions and therefore this empowerment to the board was important, RINL chairman and managing director P K Bishnoi told this newspaper from Vishakhapatnam. Endorsing his view,a senior steel ministry official argued that the navratna status these days was no more a medal; rather it was an empowerment of the board. RINL is currently doubling its capacity from 3 million tonnes per annum to 6.3 million tonnes at a cost of about Rs 12,000 crore.

The high-powered Inter Ministerial Committee comprising secretaries of DPE,Planning Commission,Expenditure (finance ministry) and steel,which had earlier okayed the granting of navratna status to RINL argued that lack of captive mines jacked up the PSUs operational expenditure to the tune of 73 per cent as compared to 33 per cent for Tata Steel and 51 per cent for SAIL during 2009,despite its being more energy efficient vis-a-vis its competitors during the past three years. Ensuring the navratna status to RINL was also on top of Steel Minister Virbhadra Singhs 100-day agenda.

Providing another shot in the arm to the ministry,the DPE has recommended the granting of maharatna status to SAIL. The DPE has given its go-ahead on granting the maharatna status to SAIL and we will soon seek the nod of the apex committee on the same, Chaturvedi said. In order to be a maharatna,a PSU ought to have a turnover of at least Rs 25,000 crore for three consecutive years,a net worth of at least Rs 15,000 crore,and a net profit of Rs 5,000 crore,besides being listed. The union cabinet had cleared the maharatna scheme in December 2009 and set the eligibility norms for the same. A maharatna tag empowers companies to take investment decisions of up to Rs 5,000 crore independently as against the limit of Rs 1,000 crore accorded to companies under the navratna status. The move is also aimed at helping SAIL to acquire raw materials abroad.