The origin of Joint Plant Committee (JPC) can be traced way back in 1964, when it came into being, following the recommendations of Dr. K. N. Raj Committee, for the purpose of formulating guidelines for production, allocation, pricing and distribution of iron and steel materials in the country. With passage of time, Indian steel industry was deregulated in 1992, which marked a turning point for JPC. From that point onwards, the role/charter/activities of JPC changed considerably as it moulded itself into the role of a facilitator for the Indian steel industry, operating in a liberalized market-driven economy.

The modern-day JPC is headquartered at Kolkata with four regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and the Economic Research Unit at New Delhi serving as a wing of JPC to carry out techno-economic studies. At present, it comprises of the following members:

·        Chairman - Joint Secretary, Ministry of Steel, Government of India

·        Four representatives from Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL)

·        One representative each from Tata Steel Ltd Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.  (RINL) and

·        One representative from Indian Railways, as an important consumer of steel

The National Steel Policy has laid down the long term Vision of Growth for the Indian steel industry, which is on the threshold of undergoing a major change, in terms of number, capacity, production, technology, among others. Already India has achieved the exalted rank of being the 5^th largest producer of crude steel in the world, besides its coveted position as the world’s largest sponge iron producer and implementation of the on-going capacity expansion projects are expected to lead the domestic steel industry to greater heights. In such an environment, Joint Plant Committee, already accredited the prestigious ISO 9001: 2000 certification for its manifold services, has been pursuing a charter of jobs, keeping in mind the information needs of an industry growing and changing rapidly.

Data & Information Services

Today, JPC is the only institution in the country, which is officially empowered to collect data on the Indian iron and steel industry, resulting in the creation and maintenance of the only basic databank on this industry. Major data items collected include:

·        Capacity, Production and Stock of both Main and Secondary Producers of steel covering segments like crude steel, semi-finished steel, non-flat steel and the entire downstream range of flat steel;

·        Domestic market prices of iron and steel;

·        Export-import of iron, steel;

·        Production, prices, reserves of raw materials for steel making;

·        State-wise, category-wise dispatch of iron and steel;

·        Production, availability, consumption of refractory;

·        Consumption data of related category of iron and steel features in the database as a derived item.

Besides regular liaison with the units, segment-specific surveys form a major database maintenance activity. They not only help update the population frame but also aid policy decisions at the government level. Last year, a survey on the Indian sponge iron industry was completed and before that, surveys on induction furnace/electric arc furnace and re-rolling units were completed. A survey of pig iron industry and another of the refractory segment are currently being pursued. Reports of all the completed survey are available at JPC for sale.

Industry statistics for long has suffered from the data problems of under-reporting in crude steel data (affecting in turn, semi-finished and re-rolling sector data) and double counting in data for flat steel. JPC had been working on this for some time and in 2007, it has addressed /corrected these problems, and accordingly revised its entire data series starting from 1992-92. Collection of field data from plants and equipment manufacturers was part of the exercise and JPC had put in all-out efforts to compile all such data from extensive field surveys.

Dissemination of Information

Besides collection of data, dissemination of information to all stakeholders of Indian steel industry is another key activity of JPC. Major channels of information dissemination include:

·  JPC Bulletin on Iron & Steel: provides a monthly trend scenario of the Indian iron and steel industry in a global perspective.

·  Performance Review: Iron & Steel: Encapsulates an exhaustive account of the developments in different aspects of the Indian iron and steel industry in the fiscal gone by.

·  Annual Statistics:  provides a statistical profile of five-yearly database on different areas of Indian steel industry.

·  Survey Reports: include reports of various surveys conducted by JPC viz. sponge iron, pig iron, CR-GP/GC, RR, EAF/IF.

·  Special Publications: recently, JPC has released the ‘Guidelines for Entrepreneurs for Setting up of Iron & Steel Plants’. Prepared by MECON Ltd, the report (in CD format) compiles all the vital information sought by an entrepreneur wishing to set-up a steel plant in the country.

·  Through website, www.jpcindiansteel.org: information on different aspects of the domestic iron & steel industry.

Additionally, information dissemination finds avenues via responding to queries from industry, maintaining the organization’s quality objectives of adequacy, accuracy and timelines. Analytical/Research support are also provided in areas like steel policy matters, trade cases, price and market trends, economic analysis, formulation of Plan projections on steel demand/availability and any other case to case matter.

Some of the key projects undertaken in this regard by ERU include estimating category wise demand for the 11^th Five Year Plan, estimating capacity and production in the Induction Furnace Sector (study undertaken on behalf of the Expert Group formed for revising JPC data), revision of targets of National Steel Policy in view of acceleration in economic growth, assessing adequacy of infrastructure for the proposed expansion in steel capacity in the 11^th Plan with special reference to Orissa, Chhattisgarh and Jharkhand and study on the prospects of Utilization of Iron ore fines in India. Besides monthly analysis of market prices, formation of pre-Budget proposals for the steel sector, studies on competitiveness of the Indian steel industry, ERU also functions as the Secretariat to the Steel Price Monitoring Committee and to the Sub-committee on relative movement of Hot Rolled & Cold Rolled prices.  Materials for Parliament questions and speeches and background notes for use by the Ministry of Steel feature among miscellaneous activities undertaken by ERU.

Support Services

The objective here is to provide varied support to steel industry / Ministry of Steel on different issues / activities, related to development of industry and /or spread of awareness on usage of steel. Some of the key activities here include:

·        Organizational responsibility of the Steel Consumers’ Council meetings of Ministry of Steel, which provides a forum for interaction between the producers and consumers of steel in the country.

·        Showcase the multifaceted usage of steel in daily life through organization and participation (every year since 2002) in the ‘Steel Pavilion’ of Ministry of Steel in the ‘India International Trade Fair’ (IITF), New Delhi.

·        JPC aims to propagate knowledge, awareness on the benefits of usage of steel and bridge the information gap between the producers and end-users of steel. This is achieved through lending support to, as well as organization of, seminars / workshops on technology, infrastructure, environment, market trends, budget, policymaking and other topical issues.

·        Education is the stepping stone to greater success. Under the aegis of the Ministry of Steel, the Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute (BPNSI) in Puri/Orissa and the National Institute for Secondary Steel Technology (NISST), Mandi Gobindgarh are instances initiated in this regard.  The Indian construction sector has emerged as a key consumer of steel and with infrastructure building in the country poised for a big leap, the potential of steel consumption in the Indian construction sector is immense. It is the realization of this potential that has led to the formulation of the Institute for Steel Development and Growth (INSDAG) in Kolkata with active participation from industry under the patronage of the Ministry of Steel.

Fund Management Services

Vide Notification No. S.O. 744 (E)/ESS.COMM/IRON & STEEL dated 27^th December, 1978, Ministry of Steel had announced the decision to form the Steel Development Fund (SDF). The main idea behind SDF is the promotion of Research and Development in steel industry for which funds are earmarked every year, from SDF. JPC serves as the Secretariat of the Steel Development Fund (SDF). The SDF Managing Committee comprises of Secretary to the Government of India, Ministry of Steel who is the Chairman. The other members are Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Department of Expenditure, Govt. of India, Secretary, Planning Commission, Govt. of India and the Jt. Secretary, MOS, Govt. of India is the Member Secretary, SDF Managing Committee.

In tune with its objective, this fund provides financial assistance to the industry from the interest of SDF corpus for taking up projects like, technology up-gradation, major new investments in capacity enhancement, measures connected with pollution control, activities related to Research and Development. Out of the SDF Corpus JPC also renders assistance:

1.      In form of rebate to the Small Scale Industries Corporation (SSICs) engaged in the distribution of steel.

2.      Prime Minister’s Trophy for the best integrated steel plant

3.      Market Development Projects

4.      GEF/UNDP project for environment and pollution control in the iron and steel sector

JPC in recent times, has also been entrusted with the Secretarial functions of the Ferrous Scrap Committee (FSC), which includes among others, management of the Ferrous Scrap Development Fund (FSDF).

Members of Joint Plant Committee:

Dr. Udai Pratap Singh, Jt.Secretary, MOS and Chairman JPC, Tel No.:(011), 23063297;  Fax:011-23063415

Shri Arvind Srivastava, Director (RS/I&S) Railway Board, 3, Koilaghat Street, Kolkata, Tel No.:(033)2248-0430, Fax:2248-0405, Res Tel No:2446-1615, email:jdrs@cal.vsnl.net.in

Shri Ranen Nag, Executive Director (T&S) Steel Authority of India Limited, Central Marketing Organisation, Ispat Bhavan, 40, Chowringhee Road, Kolkata - 700 071, Tel No.:(033)2288-9814/9621,  Fax:(033)2288-9876,  Res. Tel No.2321-7878 email:ranennag@sail.steel.com

Shri D.Kobi, Executive Director (MKTG-FP) Steel Authority of India Limited, Central Marketing Organisation, Ispat Bhavan, 40, Chowringhee Road, Kolkata - 700071, Tel No.:(033)2288-1372,Fax:(033)2288-6183, 

Shri V K Mehta, Executive Director (M-LP/ITD) Steel Authority of India Limited, Central Marketing Organisation, Ispat Bhavan, 40, Chowringhee Road, Kolkata - 700071

Shri A.K.Ghosh , ED (F&A), Steel Authority of India Limited,(CMO), Ispat Niketan, 52/1A, Ballygunge Circular Road, Kolkata - 700 019, Tel No.:(033)2461-4011/12, Fax:(033)2461-4032

Shri H.M. Nerurkar, Chief Operating Officer, Tata Steel  Ltd., Tel No.:(0657) 2431598, Fax:(0657) 2424098,

 Shri R. Sankar, GM (Mktg), RINL , VSP, Vishakhapatnam-530031, Tel No.:(0891) 275-0562(O), Fax:(0891)251-8025,  email:cgpatil.mktg@vizagsteel.com