2,

DESIGN OF RESEARCH AND

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Harmonious relations in every sphere of human activity are a prerequisite for

socio-economic progress. Establishing and maintaining smooth and cordial
relations between worker and management, in particular, is of utmost importance.
Mere technical efficiency modern machinery, good plant layout and dynamic
organisations etc. are not enough to make a business profitable and lead to
economic growth and social improvements. It is harmonious and constructive
worker-management relationship in industry, which plays almost a decisive role
in this respect.

Unfortunately, increasing complexity of mo~em industrial system, has widened

the hiatus between the employers and the employees more than ever before,
the distributional disparities have worsened and discontent and frustration at
the lower I,evels of organisations have heightened.,This gap has created seriOUS
types of industrial conflicts in worker-management relations, resulting in fall of
production, increase in prices and creation of adverse balance of payments.
Threats to industrial peace are threats to the creation and maximisation of national
wealth and can easily be transcribed as threats to the 'welfare of the people.
Therefore, there has always been a need to study the factors, which result in
industrial unrest and those which lead to cordi~1 worker-management relations,
with a view to evolve and implement the policies and strategies relating to
industrial relations, keeping the all important aim of socia-ecOnomic development
<.-.

of the economy in view.

In India, quite a large number of research studies has been carried out in various

23

States and industrial centres of the country. These studies, which invariably
deal with different aspects of industrial relations, have been conducted to meet
the needs of individual researchers and found providing agencies.

OBJECTIVES AND SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

The study seeks to examine in realistic and comprehensive manner the state of
worker-management relations in Bhilai Steel Plant and probe objectively into
the fa'\ors that helps or obstruct the maintenance and development of harmonious
relations between worker and management in the industry .
.

Specifically the study focuses on the following aspects of worker-management

relations:
1.

The nature, extent and manifestation of industrial conflicts, their

associated factors and the workingpf dispute handling machinery in
India.

2.

Working and living conditions of workers, workers' satisfaction with

various elements of job, the degree of workers' Job satisfaction and its
determinants in the organisation under study.

3.

Worker's expectations from their supervisors and management with

regard to different aspects of their roles at work situations.

4.

The nature and extent of workers' participation in decision making, the

existing organisational climate for partiCipation, functioning of participative
forums, existing degree of workers' influence in different decision areas
and the desired forms of participation in decision making.

5.

The growth and structure of trade unionism, the extent of workers'

involvement and participation in union activities and the correlates of
union involvement.

, I

Along with the examination of above formal aspects of worker-management

relations, the study is designed to :

1.

examine the attitude and behaviour and assess the reaction and
, I

response of the parties in industrial relations system,'

2.

review the theoretical and empirical literature available on the subject

in order to develop a comprehensive base for the study,

3.

throw light on the industrial relations system existing in the industry

4.

under study and

. ,
.
.
identify the specific roles to be played by workers, supervisors, management, trade unions and the govemment officials for the harmonious
worker-management relationi' and on the basis of the findings of the
study, offer policy recommendations for achieving the much needed
industrial peace.

With a few exceptions, mosCof the existing studies on industrial relations in

India are restricted to a descriptive count of the number of industrial conflicts,
their causes and consequences; cold, lifeless and repetitive calculations of the
issues underlying these disputes, union membership, wage trends, etc. These
fail to fully explain the dynamics of the relationship. However, the present study
is an empirical one and of exploratory nature. A study of this type will help the
management in developing a deeper insight into the relevant aspect of industrial
relations; policies and practices. It can be of positive influence in evolving and
implementing policies oriented to better the results. The study, it is hoped, would
be useful both to the management and workers as it brings out their view pOints
regarding different issues in industri~1 relations and can thus pave the way for
better understanding and mutual co-operation.

2~

A FRAME OF WORKING HYPOTHESES

To ~.eep tile frame ofthl:i analysis intact and give a proper direction to tile study,
the following working hypotheses have been set up :

1.

Better the worker-management relations greater will be the productivity

and efficiencY'in the operation of an industry.

2.

The regional influence, the size of the work force, approach of the
management and attitudes of workers playa significant role in influencing the system of industrial relations in an industry.

3.

In a developing economy, such as, ours, economic factors tend .'to

' ..
dominate over non-economic factors in causing industrial disputes.

4.

Inflation, extent of trade unionism, workers' job dissatisfaction,

working of participative forums act as positive inducements for Conflict

proneness.
5.

Workers' job satisfaction, participation in decision making, union involvement and participation and their attitude towards various aspects

of

worker-management relations are influenced by their socio-economic

and personal variables.

6.

All parties to industrial disputes favour third party intervention and settlement through the machinery, such as, conciliation and arbitration both
compulsory and VOluntary, rather than direct negotiations or collective
bargaining.

"

SCOPE OF THE STUDY

2G
As stated earlier, the study has been restricted to Bhilal Steel Plant. Bhilai
Steel Plant has been selected deliberately for the purpose of present study for
the following reasons:

1.

The Steel industry is one of the largest industry in the entire manufacturing sector of the country, both in terms of the number of units and employment.

2.

11 contributes substantially towards the total value of industrial production,

makes maximum use of the locally available inputs and meets the demand
not only of the State but also of the national and international consumption.

3.

It has throughout occupied a predominant position in the trade union

movement of the country and presently accounts for a substantial
proportion of union membership.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

Research Approach.
With a view to substantiate the above hypotheses the following research approach
has. been employed:

1.

Literature survey to critically review the available resrarch on various

aspects of industrial relations.

2.

Field study to observe in proper perspective the situation with regard to

.

the labour conditions and other aspects of employment relationship

in. the organisation under study.
3.

Interviewing workers, trade unionists, management representatives and

government Officials, concerned with the labour administration, through
personal interviews on scheduled questionnaires.

.,
4.

27

Study of records, annual reports, statistical handbooks, committee and

survey reports and other official documents in sample unit and in
concerned govemmert agencies,

"

, I

Materials; Source and Scope

The study involves the data collected from the primary as well as the secondary .
sources. The data pertaining to the sample organisation, such as the historical
development, the production line, nature of workforce, salary stucture, individual
grievances, working of bipartite committees, trade unions,
industrial relations
. ,
climate, industrial disputes, dispute handling procedure, personnel policies,
performance in terms of both financial and non-financial parameters, have been
obtained from various records and documents of the sample organisation and
also through discussion with the

conC~~r1ed authorities)

. Questionnaire; Development and Administration

The primary data have been collected primarily from workers and management
personnel, constituting the major source of data forthe study. For this purpose
two separate comprehensive questionnaires, intended to be the principal
instruments for obtaining necessary information were prepared for (1) workers
and (2) management personnel . The questionnaires were pre-tested with
,

workers and management personnel in one of the units under study in Bhilai
Steel Plant. The questions which were reported as inappropriate and difficult to
understand or which had poor responses were revised and reframed to meet
the requirements, Further, during the pre-testing stage, the respondents were
found hesitant to respond to open enti and direct questions, but highly responSive

"

28

to indirect structured questionnaire" As such, it was thought expedient to use

well structured interview schedule. This helped in keeping the frame of the study
intact and achieving qualitativeness in the interpretation of data.

Likert-type technique was used to prepare scales for selection of items to measure
attitudes of workers and management personnel towards various aspects of
worker-management relations. items which did not ,s.how a substantial correlation
with the total scores were eliminated to ensure that the questionnaires are
"internally consistent", Le., every item is related to the same general attitude.

Interview schedule for workers was designed to, s,eek data on the workers'
(inclusive of trade union leaders) socio-economic background, their per~eptionl ,

,
views regarding the nature and extent of industrial conflicts and settlement,
their aspirations and job satisfaction, workers' participation in decision-making
and trade union activities, etc.

The interview schedule for management personnel was designed to elicit

, I

information regarding the perception I views of management personnel towards

industrial conflicts, conflict resolution, workers' participation in decision-making,
trade unions, etc.

The information obtained from each sampled respondent in every department

studied was secured directly through personal interviews using the questionnaire
schedules. However, some of the management representatives and trade union
leaders filled up the questionnaires themselves, Before the interviews, the
respondents were explained in detail the different aspects of the interview
schedules and their background. To get true responses of respondents,as far

29
as possible, there were inbuilt checks in the questionnaires, which pointed out
the wrong responses. On these items also repeated interviews were held after
clarifying the doubts and misgivings.

In order to secure their co-operation, ~he purpose of the study was explained to
them and they were assured that their views and personal information would be
kept strictly confidential. They were encouraged to express themselves as
honestly and frankly as possible. Every possible effort has been made to
supplement quantitative and qualitative data through the information received
by informal interviews as well as personal observations. Wherever possible,
inCidents and verbal statements of respondents have been used to support the

-.

emerging conclusions in the analysis of the issues.

Sample Design
Since the total number of employees in the sample unit was too large to be
covered by an individual researcher, it was decided to employ sample-method
of study. Keeping in view the characteristics of the population and the c)ariables
to be studied, the stratified random sampling procedure was used.

Sample size
The population was sratified as (1) workers and (2) management personnel.
With a view to give sufficient representation to each departme.nt studied and the
two classes of employees and to have a manageable one, the size of the sample
was restricted to 100 workers and 30 management personnel. Table 2.1 presents
details about the sample composition.

Workers for the sample include different categories of opl:ratives and non-oper-

, 1

3J
-atives and some office-bearers of trade unions and bipartite committees.
Similarly, the sample of management personnel includes top management
personnel, management personnel of all important functions at different
hierarchies, office-bearers of personnel departments, higher level supervisory
staff and also a few management nominees representing different jOint
committees/forums.
The data collected have been statistically analysed using, besides the absolute
numbers, the methods of percentage comparison, summary statistics such as,
averages, coefficient of variation, ranking based on overall scores and
comparison of mean scores based on the scoring depending upon the desirability
of different dimensions studied.

Since the study mainly focuses on the attitude analysis, the need was felt to
quantify the data which were otherwise qualitative in nature. In the present
study, summated Rating Scoring Scale developed by Rensis Likert (1932)
popularly known as Likert-type technique was applied for the purpose. In such
a scale the subjects were asked to respond to each item on a particular issue
under study in terms of several degrees of agreement or disagreement, for
example

(1)

completely satisfied,

(2)

considerably satisfied,

(3)

moderately satisfied,

(4)

slightly satisfied and

(5)

not at all satisfied.

..

The responses to various items were scored in such a way that a response
indicative of the most favourable attitude was given the highest score ~nd vice
versa (5 = High; 1

=Low). Though, in most of the cases a five-point continuum

was used,a three-point or four point continuum was also applied wherever
necessary.

I"':. , 31
After determining the sample size for each departmen\, the technique of sratified
proportionate representative sampling has been used for drawing the sample of ,

,
workers from each department using job as the criterion for stratification, The,
universe was stratified according to the job status of its constituents because
the respondents displayed basic differences in terms of the degree and the
nature of skill possessed, sabry, task assignment and the managements'
perception of their job importance, For operational purpose, the departments
, I

performing different jobs have been used as different strata: The size of the
sample drawn from each stratum has been randomly selected from the list of
workers prepared for each department separately, The attendance roll of the
concemed departments, has been utilised for selecting the required number of
respondents, Similar procedure for selecting the sample of management
. ,
personnel has been adopted. The details of distribution of sample have been
shown in Table 2.1.

Data Processing and Statistical Analysis

The data collected, both from the primary and secondary sources have been
arranged in logical order and processed both manually and by computer. Minor
tables were prepared manualiy while as cross tables involving large scale
calculations were prepared with the help of computer. As a pre-condition of
data processing by computer, the verbal responses were translated into
numerical symbols and properly coded.
The technique of choice scoring has been used to assess the order of preference,
or in other words, the degree of popularity of a particular variable. If the
respondents ranked a certain specimen as number one, at the top of five given
specimens, he evidently preferred it to other four and so on, In such cases
weight of five to the 1st, four to the 2nd, three to the 3rd, two to the 4th and one
to the 5th has been given on a five-point continuum. In case of three-point
scale, scores of 3, 2 and 1 have beer, assigned according to the order in which
the items in question were ranked. Similarly, the other scoring scales have
been applied as per the requirements.

3':::
LlMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

Any study analysing human factor in the work setting cannot claim perfection in
view of the nature of the subject itself and the present one is no exception to it.
During the study a number of limitations and constraints were faced and it is
necessary to point them out at the very outset.
,

It is an industry-cum-region study. Its scope is liQ1ited and excludes deeper

enquiry into other aspects of industrial relations, such as salary structure,
,

employment, job security and other personnel issues such as, promotion,
training, selection absenteeism, labour turnover, retrenchment, etc.

The main limitation of the study relates to the inadequate and incom~l::teness ,

,
of the statistical data. The general limitations of the kind of secondary dat~
originating from government offices, particularly their incompleteness and
inaccuracy, cannot be ruled out.
The non-availability of adequdte and reliable statistical information for some
years and for some vital issues has made it difficult to study all the important

".

, I

issues in industrial relations in proper perspective. For example, the detailed

statistics relating to real wages, earnings and consumer price index for the
State as a whole and its break up sector-wise and industry-wise are not available.
The statistics relating to industrial disputes and their settlement are available

for the State as a Whole and no data regarding the sector-wise and industry.
wise disputes, their causative factors, their impact, collective agreements, the
implementation of settlements, participative forums, etc., are available. The
information about the arbitration and adjudication awards was not provided in
spite of repeated requests. All this has made the study of various vital"issues in
worker-management relations very difficult.

'1 -

33

In the present study it was envisaged to assess the degree of unionisation and
the extent of industrial conflicts, explain their growth factors and find the
relationship between the degree of unionisation and incidence of industrial
conflicts in the State and in the industry,under study. But again the non-availablity
"

of data relating to various variables have stood in the way of such an important
analysis. The statistical information regarding the union membership as used
in the study is claimed membership which is most likely to be exaggerated,
since they are based on voluntary disclosure and the concerned government
agency does not have any practice of verifying the union membership .

.The limitations of the primary data again cannot be ruled out. The general
limitations of such data, obtained through attitude survey, relate to partial and
n(ln-response of the respondents which owing to the factors, such as,
unwilingness to disclose certain information, particularly, pertaining to the
personal variables, must have occl;lrred in spite of the best efforts of the
investigator. Because human beings are wise enough to manipulate their answers
in consonance with the social values. Therefore, some element of bias in the
opinion/perception of the respo~dents cannot be ruled out. However, in spite of
the co-operative attitude of the management, at times in some departments
there was reluctance on the part of some workers to respond freely, but every
possible effort was made to find out the attitude/perception of the workers and

-.

management regarding various aspects of worker-management relations in an

objective manner. The best use of the data available has bee'n made to make
the study purposeful. As reported earlier, to supplement the available data, the
interview method has been employed to obtain information not available

.-

otherwise.

BACKGROUND OF THE STUDY

Before we g'o into the detailed discussion on worker-management relations in .
Bhilai Steel Plant, it may not be considered out of place to give a brief description
of the background under which the study is undertaken.

Ourg
Durg is one of the 61 districts of M.P. Ourg was called 'Drug' originally and was
attached with Shandara district. Initially Durg was tahasil of Raipur district and
previously the state was divided into 45 districts of which Durg was one. In
1907 four estates were transferred to it on 1st January 1948-49 with incorporation
, I

of the states of the Khairagarh, Rajnandgaon, Kawardha and Chhoikhadan into

the Durg district. Durg township is the headquarter of the Durg District. It is
situated on the eastern bank of Seonath which is one of the main rivers of Durg
District. Shilai falls within Durg district.

Climate of Durg is subhumid. The maximum 'temperatu're raised here is upto

46-47" C and the minimum temperature gone is upto 12"C. The average rainfall
is 127 cm with 100-150 cm of range. Humidity generally is around 75% in
Monsoon and in winter the humidity is 25%.

Steel Authority of India Limited

The Steel Authority of India Limit~d (SAIL) is the largest corporate entity in
India with a current investment and turnover of more than Rs. 10,000 crores
anually. Steel produced in SAIL's five Integrated Steel Plants and four special
steel plants is the result of untiring efforts of 1,87,504 employees, comprising
19,745 execuitves and 1,67,759 non-executives. The manpower productivity
increased to 92 tonne crude steel per man year as compared to 90 tonne crude
steel per man year achieved during the previous year.

Training for developing the competencies of employees based on organisational

requirements continued. During the year 1995-96,1,03,395 employees were
trained' under on-going company-wide schemes. The details of production and
financial highlights is presented in table 2.2.

3G

"

T'lble No. 2.1

DEPARTMENTS COVERED BY THE STUDY AND THE NUMBER OF
RESPONDENTS INTERVIEWED

No. of Samples selected

Name of Department

management

workers

.-

----

01.

COKE OVEN

02.

SINTERING PLANT I

03.

SINTERING PLANT 11

04.

BLAST FURNACE VII

OS.

SLAG GRANULATION PLANT

06.

STEEL MELTING SHOP - I

07.

STEEL MELTING SHOP - 11

08.

CONTINUOUS CASTING SHOP

09.

BLOOMING & BILLET MILL

10.

RAIL & STRUCTURAL MILL

.1

11.

MERCHANT MILL

12.

WIRE ROD MILL

13.

DECOIL1NG & TWISTING UNIT

14.

ROLL TURNING AND REPAIR SHOP 4

lS.

PLATE MILL

16.

FOUNDARY & PATTE~N SHOP

17.

FORGE SHOP

18.

STEEL STRUCTURAL SHOP

19.

MACHINE SHOP

20.

POWER & BLOWING STATION

21.

OXYGEN PLANT NO.1

22.,

OXYGEN PLANT NO.2

23.

CONSTRUCTION & HEAVY

..

,1

MAINTENANCE DEPARTMENT
TOTAL

100

30

, I

Source: Annual report, SA/~ 1995-96.

SAIL

37

an Overview

Formation of Hindustan Steel Limited

,When
ttw Indian 'Governrr;ent decided to enter 'the field of Iron & Steel prod~ction, it
,
decided bro~ldly not to run ttlC firm as a departmental undertaking, Althougll initially steel

project ndll11f1istratiol1 \'Ins directly under a Ministry of the Central Government, Hindustan

"

Steel was formed as a Private Limite~ Company, with President of India owning the
shnres on behalf of tile people of India, Thus Hindustan Steel Private Limited was set up
on January 19,1954,
Growth Qf Hindustan Steel (1959-1973)
,
,
To start wjttl, Hindustan ~teel (HSL) was designed to manage only one pla,nt, that was
coming up at Rourkela. Por Bhilai & Ourgapur plants, the preliminary work was done by
ol1lcials in Iron & Steel Ministry, From April 1957, the supervision and control of the Bhilai
& Durgapur Plants were also transferred to Hindustan Steel. The registered office was

oflglnally in New ,Deltli, moved to Calcutta in July 1956 and ultimately shifted to Ranchi in
December 1959. Initially Bokaro Project also came under HSL.
A new steel company

ria~~IY Bokaro Steel Limited was incorpor~ted in January 1964 to

construct and operate the steel plant at Bokaro. The 1 MT phase of Bhilai & Rourk.ela
Steel Plants were completed by end ot'December 1961. The 1 MT pha::;e of Durgapur
was completed in January, 1962 after com,missioning of wheel and axle olan!. As a result,
the crude steel product!on of HSL went up from 108 Ylousand tonnes (in 1959-60) to 1.6
MT. The second phase of Bhilai was compl.etetl on 2 nd September, 1967 after
commissioning of Wire Rod Mill. The last unit of 1.8MT phase of Rourkela was the Tandem
Mill commissioned on 17'" February, 1,968 and 1.6 MT phase of Ourgapur was which was
completed on 6'" August 1M9 after commissioning of furnace in SMS. Thus, with the
completion of 2.SMT stage in Bhilai, 1.8MT in Rourkela and 1.6MT phase of Ourgapur,
the total crude steel output from HSL wiis raised to 3.7MT in 1968-69 and 4MT in
1972-73.
Steel Authority of India Limited

I.

Formation:

The Committee of Public Undertaking of the Fifth)-ok Sabha was the first Parliamentary
Committee to undertake a review of the question of setting up a Holding Company for
steel. It was first considered in the Department of Steel in 1971 with the following two
objectives -

..

,.

33

Rapid growth oi me industrial sector, of the economy, of the state as a leading agent
of the growth process;'and
Ability of the g'o~erii'ment to divert investment into areas which are strategic from the
point of view of future development.
i'n this context, it was recognized that the Public S.ector had to be made more eff:cient in'
order that it might be able to contribute fDr more than it had to the common pool of
investible surplus in the economy.
, .
Further, such a holding company could perform a number of other important functions
like coordination and control of constitutent units, checking out long term, programmes,
introduction of necessary technological changes, setting up of an R&D organisation and
training of managerial personnel for the Public Sector as a whole.
Based on the above considerations, the proposal to set up a holding company for Steel
and associated input industries was ~pproved by the Government in January 1972.
Accordingly, the formation of Steel Authority of India Limited was approved by the
Government in December, 1972. The company was incorporated on January 24, 1973
with an authorised capital of Rs. 2,000 crores. In 1978 SAIL: was restructured as an
operating company.

fl.

Present Status

Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) through its five integrated steel plants at Bhilai,
Bokaro, Burnpur, Durgapur and Rourkela accounts for major steel production capacity of
India.
Two special steel plants at Durgapur and Salem produce a wide range of special alloy
steels and stainless steel.
VISL, Bhadravati is ~n integrated compiex with an installed capacity of 0.18 MT, produces
alloy & special steeYs.

'

MEL, Chandrapur is one of the largest producer of bulk Ferro Alloys in the country.
\

Today, SAIL is one of the largest corporate entities in the country. Its innate strength lies
in its technologists and professionals and a trained manpower of around 1.86 lakhs
including subsidiaries. It had a sales turnover of over 16250 crores during 1999-2000 .

Plants & Units

Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP)

An agreement was signed in New Delhi on February, 2, 1955 between the Government of
India and Soviet Union 1''0 set up an integrated steel plant at Bhilai with a capacity of 1 MT
of ingot steel. Tn{! plant began its operation on January 31, 1959 when Coke Battery No.
1 was commissioned. Production of Pig Iron at Bhilai began on February 4, 1959 when
Blast Furnace No.1 was commissioned.

,.

38
Situated in Madhya Pradesh, this was one of the three 1 MT capacity crude steel plants
. set up in the Public Sector in the late fifties. Subsequently it was expanded to 2.5 MT
ingot capacity, and currently expanded \0 4.0 MT. With this, the saleable steel capacity
increased from 1,965 MT (2.5 MT stage) to 3,153 MT (4.0 MT stage).
The plant was the first in India to produce wide (3600 mm) heavy plates. A major exporter
'of steel products, Sllilai specialises in shaped products, such as heavy rails, 11eavy
structl/rals, merchant products and wire rods. Almost all units in this integratehteel
plant are armed with ISO 9002 certification. Plate Mill 01 Shilai Steel Plant has received
the ISO: 14001 Certification for its Environment Management System.
Product-mix

Tonncs / Annum

Somis

553,000

Rails

500,000

Hoav1 Structurals

250.000

Merchant ProdCcts

500.000

Wire Rods

400.000

--------

Plales
Total Saleable Steel

..

950.000
3153.000

Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP)

RSP was the first of the three steel plants taken up in the Public Sector. On December
31, 1953, an agreement was made between the Government of India and a Consortium
consisting of Essen & Demag, Aktiengeselischaft, Duisburg to set up a steel plant of
initial capacity of 0.5 MT. Subsequently a supplementary agreement was signed in July
1955 to set up a 1 MT plant. The Coke Oven Battery
No.1 was commissioned on 3'd
.
December, 1958 and the first of the three Blast Furnaces was commissioned on 3'd

February, 1959_
Situated in Orissa, it was the first integrated steel plant in India {Jt;lsigned to produce
only flat produCts and the first in Asia to introduce basic oxygen furnace (BOF) process at
a time when this process was yet to receive recognition from the established steel
producers at home and abroad. The plant produces a wide range of flat steel products
like plates, hot and cold rolled coils and sheets, galvanized sheets, electrical steel sheets,
el~ctrolytic

tin-plates and large diameter electric resistance welded (ERW) and spiral

welded (SW) pipes. The plant was expanded in the late sixties (1965-68) from 1.0 MT to
1.8 MT per annum ingot steel capacity. Continuous technological innovation has led to
_ greater diversification in this plant's product range. The new units for producing cold
rolled non-grain oriented (CRNO) sheets, cold rolled grain orienteg (CRGO) sheets has
also been commissioned to meet the market needs.
.

..

40

Its Blast Furnace, Steel Melting Shop-I, Continuous Casting Shop-I, Oxygen Plants-I&II,
Hot Strip Mill, ERW & SW Pipe Plants, Galvanising Lines and Silicon Steel Mill are
accredited with ISO 9002 Certification. The silicon steel mill has been accredited with
tSO 14001 Certification for its Environment Management System.
Tonncs t Annum

Product-mix

Semis

553,000

Plate Mill Plates

299,000

HR Plates

150,000

HR Cpils

340,500

ERWPipes

75,000

SW P"lpes"

55,000

CR Sheets & Coils

433,000

Galvanized Sheets (GP&GC)

160,000

Electrolytic Tin Plates

85,000

Silicon Sleel Sheels (CRGO & CRNO)

73,500

Total Saleable Steel

16,71,000

Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP)

Set up with an initial annual capacity of 1 million tonnes of ingot stee:, DSP was later
expanded to 1.6 mil)ion tonnes. Among the various products rolled out are medium
structurals, merchant products, skelp and continuously cast billets. A new product-extra
high strength thermo merchanically treated (TMT) bar has been successfully developed
and marketed. Besides these, it is a major producer of railwav produrts like forged wheels
'and axles, sleepers and fish plates.

-.-.

. With the complel.ion of the massive modernisation programme. DSP is in possession of

state-of-the-art technology for quality steel making. Stabilisation of the modernised units
has brought about improved productivity, substantial improvement in energy consumption
and better quality products: DSP's steel making complex, Merchant Mill and Wheel &
Axle Plant are covered by the ISO 9002 quality assurance certification.
Product-mix

Tannest Annum

-.
Merchant Products

260,000

Structurals

160,000

Skelp

230,000

Wheels and Axles

40,000

Semis
Total Saleable Steel

898,000
,

1588,000

41

Bok.1ro Steel Plant (BSL)

Bokaro Steel Plant 'brings out before ono's eyes the vision of a

massiv~ giant in the

maklllg'. As tho fourth steel plant in the Public Sector, conceived in 1959, it actually
st.:lrted taking shape in 19G5 with the signing of an agreement with the Government of
USSR on 25" January, 19G5. Envisaging a capacity of 1.7 MT in 1" stage and 4.0 MT in
2 OJ st.:lge, its construction st.:lrted on G'" April, 19G8.
[30knro Steel Plant was originally incorporated as a Limited Company on 29'" January
, 9G.1, iJut nfter the formation of SAIL in 1973, it became a wholly owned subsidiary of
SAIL and on 1" May 1978 it was eventually merged with SAIL in terms of Public Sector
Iron & Steel COliJpimies (resfructuring) and Miscellaneous Provisions Act 1978.
Tile plnnt was conceived as the country's first 'Swadeshi' steel plant, to be built with
maximum indigenisation going into. the equipments, materials and know-how. Thus, this
project has been a radical shift form the earlier dependence on foreign sources 6f knowhow and consultancy, design and equipment, engineering, supervision and erection to
almost a full measure of self-reliance and confidence.
Gokaro Steiels first phase of 1.7 MT commenced on 2"d October, 1972 with the
commissioning of 1$I blast furnace and completed on 26'" February 1978 with the
commissioning of 3'd Blast Furnace.
o

All units of 4.0 MT stage have since been commissioned. The plant facilities and layout
took into account the provision tor further expansion to an ultimate capacity of 10 MT.
Bokaro is geared to provide a sure and strong raw material base for a host of modern
engineering industries like motor vehicles, pipes and tubes, cold rolling units, barrel and
dru;rn making and lately, LPG cylinders. Galvanized plain and corrugated sheets are
finding use in industrial and domestic applications. The black plates (being:lmported
earlier) are helping_'In conserving scarce foreign exchange. The industries which are
served by Bokaro are not only essential !or economic developm';lnt but also for raising
the standard of living of the pe,9ple in the country.
The plant has recently been modernised by introducing continuous casting facilities and
updating the Hot Strip Mill, a major step towards providing state-of-the-art technol'ogy for
producing quality steels of international standards. A range of special steel products like
SAIL COR, SAIL PR'OP, SAIL MEDS, SAIL RIM, API Grade Steel, HRVO, SAILMA, ~
WICR etc. have been introduced after modernisation in the plant.
Product-mix

Tonnesl Annum

HR Coils, Narrow Platesl Sheets

2,120,000

CR Coils and Sheets

1,390,000

GP I GC Sheets

170,000

Tin Mill Black Plates

100,000

TotalSaleable Steel

3,780,000

4. Steel Melting
Shops

3. Blast Furnace

c) Sintering
Plant NO.3

Plant No.2

b) Sintering

a) Sintering Plant
NO.1

2. Sintering Plant

1. Coke Ovens

DEPARTMENT
SF Complex

Plant

1738 T/day

5 blast furnace,
3 of 1033 CU.m each
with a hearth size of 7.2m
and 1135 T/day 2 01
1719 cu.m each with a
hearth size of 9.1 m &

1 Blast Furnace of
1719 CU.m with a
hearth size of 9.1 m
and 1738 T/day

4 Twin Hearth F,~maces

- each of SOOT capacity

hearth size of 9.75

& 2640 Tloay

2000 cu.m with a

1 Blast Furnace of

1 sintering maChlf'ie of
312 sq.m hearth area

area and other 01

of 75 s-q.m. hearth

machir,e

each 01 75 sq.m
hearth area.
80 sq.m. hearth area.

sinten~g

hearth area.

hearth area

2 sintering machines

1 Sintering machine
each of 50 sq.m.

with useful coke

chamber volume of
41.6 cu.m& 7.0m

each with useful coke

chamber volume of 21.6
cu.m & 4.3 m high
high and another of
same capacity as a
replacement of three
old batteries.

each with useful coke

chamber volume of
21.6 cU.m & 4.3 m high

sintering machine
each 01 50 sq.m.

, battery of 67 ovens

Addition under 4.0 MT

Expansion

2 batteries of 65 ovens

6 batteries 01 65 ovens

Addition under 6th

Under 2.5 MT

5.2 Brief Description of Bhilai Steel Plant

mm

Ingot Steel

Pig Iron

Hot Metal
Saleable

sinter
-do-

fluxed

Super

, coke (dry)

+25

Product

327

2361

1520

905

2969

1500

2040

2511

Complex

2.5
2198

Under 6th SF

Under

2400

630

4080

3200

3137

2040

3303

4 MT

Under

Annual Capacities In 1000 T

[\.)

..-..

"

em,,! 101111

t.1al

c) Ra# & Structural

bJ

Mill

5. noHi~g Mn($
8) BlOOming

v) SMS'I!

DEPAflTMENT

MHI comprisin\} 012 Hi

mversing Roughing
stand of 950 m.m. size
two 3 Hi finishing stano
800 mm size II< 2 Hi
fir<islliflg stano 01
- (:;ize.

757Inr capacity each.

3 Reheating tumaces o(

Continuo"" Mlil wtt~

12 stanos two groups,
ll1e lirst group COmpriSing
\WO 2 Hi HorizonlaJ stand
of 700 ItIm sal; and Ihe
2'" group-compnsing at
three vertical and three
2 Hi Horizontal stanos
of 500 1't\f'\"I, size.

Reversing Mill 01
1150 mm. size.

pits each 011 ZST

capacity" <Hi

teCu~Jati"~ S08~ing

14 gr4uP' Of

SF Complex

Plant

E:tp<1os1on

Addl\lon under '.0 MT

PrO(\\lct

..

l1nder

Under tth SF

Un".cf'

Annua" Cap.1ciHes In 1000 T

Rs&
He ..,.
SlruCtural

750

31S

(TOtal)
Ot wf1ic1l

lor sale

.26:)

21'2

6ii1~t

810<)m

BlOOms

S1;lbs

oj lQ0113~ i capac>\y eaCh

4, skfgie ~\fand: ton\it\.ulOu$
r:at\ioSl CTi:act',\f'I~~for ~tabs
&. , 10l.1f tlland contilCuOUS
ca.~\\ng cnacn\~1;! for b\0011\5

LiQvi<! Steel

3 oxygen blown tol'"l'J''ftefS

2.5

750

:)15

12&3

2142

Complex

750

553

lS0 1

21'9

~<5

Ilea

4 1&1"

------- -----------

-----~-------------~.-- ..

A<ldWon under 6tl>

Unde' 2.S.MT

..--

e) Wi,. Rod Mill

d) Merchant Mill

DEPARTMENT

specification.

. of strands C&D only to .

meet stringent quality

strands with modernisation

(each of two vertical arid

2 horizontal of 250 mri/ size
. stand) rolling in single
stand. The entire mill is
divided into A, B, C, 0

stand, four finjshi~g group

1 rehe'ating furnace of
120 Tlhr capacity. Mill
comprises of 37 stands
(7 of 450 mm size &
2 of 350mm size) First
Intermediate stand
(Six of 300 mm size,
rolling in four stand).
Two second Intermediate
stand (each rolling in 2

400m.m size)
4 Intermediate stands
(3.2 Hi horizontal & 1
vertical of 400m.m.
size) 3 Finishing stands
(2.2 Hi Horizontal of
400 & 350m.m size &
1 vertical of 350mm size)

size & 1 vertical of

of total 12 stands
having 5 Roughing
Stands (4.2 Hi
Horizontal of 500m.m.

.,

each Mill comprises

3 Reheating furnaces
of 60 TIhr capacity

Under 2.5 MT
Plant

Addition under 6th

SF Complex

Addition under 4.0 MT

Expansion

Wire Rods

Bars &
Rods

Merchant
Products.

Product

400

500

Under
2.5

400

500

Under 6th SF
Complex

400

500

Under
4 MT

Annual Capacities in 1000 T

... '

.......

Blooming Mills

Steel Melting Shop

x 1800 Ml Modernized

-Soaking Pils
-10 nos. Bottom Fired, 100 Teach
-10 nos. Side Fired. 120 Teach
42" TwoHi Reversing mill
13 Passes Ordinary steel
19 passes Special Steel
.32" Two Hi Reversing mill 7 passes

3 x (110. -130) T/heat Basic Oxygen Furnace

VAD for secondary refining
-2 x 1300 T Mixer
-2 x 300 T/day lime Calcining Furnace

-1 X 1323 M3 Reconstructed
1 x 1323 M3 Down, Under Modemization
-Casl House Slag Granulation in B.F. No.4
2 x 120 TlHr. Pig Casting
-1 x 160 T/Hr. Pig Casting

-1

-, x 1400 M3 Modernized

Blast Furnace

.-

- Sintering machIne
- Sintering area: 2x 143 M2
-lxI98M'

Sinter Plant

- Mechanised Naphthalene
- Crystallisation Plant
B.O.D. Plant

- Tar Distillation Plant

- Benzol Plant

Coke oven batteries

-78 ovens/Batt.l7T (Dry) T/Oven
-Charge vol. - 23.8 m3
-Oven size: L -14 m, H -,4.5 m, W - 450 mm
-Coking Time: 18-20 hrs.

Coke Ovens

Coal Chemicals Plant

Heavy media section 240 Tlhr.

Jig washed 120 T/hr.

Coal Washery

"

Principal Units
(Description)

Plant/Shop

5.3 Brief Description of Durgapur Steel Plant

,
.'

20

51',

2 Sa\h (2x120 t)
1

Number at
1.876 MT

Naphtha

Blooms (12"x101
Blooms/slabs

~Jlngot

8T-Rectangular ingot
nuted ingot for wheel
& CC billetsz

Hot metal

1.80~

MT

(3 Furnace Operational)

1.92 MT

2.7MT
(Sk,p S,nter)

-2x70k.l:rlbatch

+2x25kltr/batch
lOT/day

Benzol

Sinler for BF

- 100 Tlr:!ay
-2.IC1:!5 Tlday

0- 10mm

<201Tlr:1

'.'55 t.n
(Reccrd Perf.)

1.14 MT
(Reccrd Perf.)

Rated Capacity
(Annual)

AmmOnium Sulphate
Crude Tar

. SF Coke
:2Cmmto -80mm
Nul Coke
Pea~ Coke
Coke Breeze

Wa3hed Coal

Principal
Products

UI

.........

Principal Units

Wheel & Axle Plant

Skelp Mill

Merchant Mill

-One Two- Hi Roughing stand of 26" size: 5 to 7 Passes

-Two Three-Hi Intermediate Stand of 24" size
-First Intermediate - 4 passes

Section Mill

Principal

slab

2.4.mm- .c.S mn
\VheeI & AJde

-6 Nos. Band Saw machines with handling system

Heat treatment and straightening press

Axle machine shop
Assembly shop

.7 Nos. first operation GNG machines

.8 Nos. second operation GNG machines
.6 Nos. fourth operation machines
-2 Nos. 7 T pneumatic hammers

-20 MN dishing press

4 Nos. heat treatment furnace

Wheel Mill

-Mechanical descaler
-63/12 MN combination press
-Holding Fumace

Block reheating furnace

ThCkness:

-2 Coilers

Wodl!l:

256mm -147mm

Narrow stnp

Plain rounds TrAT bars

(Ttlermo-medlancatly
treated)

Joist. Channel. Angles

B~let.

Products

-5-13' Oia. HS

Number at
1.876 MT

-Roughing Train 3 Edger (26- size)

-6 Two-Hi 16" dia. HS
-Finishing Train

Thermal cooling facility. Automatic Bundling &

Binding facility.

-13 stand continuous rolling mill

-Roughing Train: 7 H.S.
-Intermediate Train: 2 H.S.
-Finishing Train: 4 H.S.
Silt rolling process with crop and cobble shearing.

-2 not saws for cutting Sect.

-One Two-Hi Finishing stand 24" size

Second Intermediate 3 passes

-6 ~tands continuous mill

-Roughing Train-Two edger
-Two Horizontal Stand
-Finishing Train - 2 Hi Horizontal Stand

(Description)

Bmet Mill

PlanVShop

58.000T

0.250 I.IT on 3

0.281JT

0207 .fT

0'9, IJT

s.....~

R.ted C.PKlty
(Annu.l)

(..")

.:,

&

Base-mix,

I
,.,.

us (DF Grade)

va (Lump)

:Ier
I
SL-J.

...
Coke

IUXYGEN PLANT -TIl

Crude Steel

...

ISMS-III

~1b

ICC~I-1I1

Oxyget

US

yean

.r<:Gil

Slab

leer

t
I
]

Crude Steel

...

I SMS-II _Oxygen

----+-

ERWp;pcs

51'1']

ISSM]

Tm plates

CRsbeets

CR coils

CRNO

---

...

Armou~.fgradc

Plates for sale

'~ Galv.shcc:ts

plates

HR Coils for Sale

ISWI'I'] _.SWp;pcs

1"1<11'1'1']

il'M]~1

-+HReoil

~';~ !.'o,'" 7""""""",,

..

Coal Chemicals for sale

Ammonium Sulphate Feruliser

Calcium Ammoniwn Nitrate(CAN) Fertiliser

Dividing !~ine --... HR plates

L _ _ _ _...

-r

..

CO gas
~
Mixed Gas for Fuel

',l I

~-

ITEl

Naptha
I

sMSf r US [rom ODDP

Raw CO gas
Clean DF Gas

I Slj.l] ,.. ISI't] IcoKUJ\ ENS]

VO(f)

...

~ll'llec]

Coking Coal

1 ~ ~ h."O. "r'

lQ!!!!tJt

limestone Dolomite

US & Dolo(SMS Gr.}

...

MR.
Ore

Iron Ore
(L&:F)

Process Flow Chart of Rourkela Steel Plant

.;

--.l

...-.

Dolomite (Both SF & SMS grade) and

Blast Furnace

Steel Melting Shop-f

Steel Melting Shop-II

5.

6.

7.

'""-

.. ii) Semi Continuous

Hot Strip Mill

8. Hot Rolling Mills

i) Plate Mill

Plant -II

Sinterin~

One 1.7m 2-Hi Universal mill F\Vo

One 1.7m 4-Hi reversible roughing stand AI
One 1.7m 4-Hi nonreversible roughing stand R2
Finishing mill of 6 continuous 1.7m wide 4Hi stand
2 Hydraulic coilers of down type
2 walking beam lurn~ces
225 T/Hr each of capacity ,

1.44 MTlYr of liquid steel

2 LDs each of 150T capacitylblow

2 mixers each of 1300 T capacity
2 Single str~nd sla~ caster

3.1 m, Highi:reversing Mill 2750 mm wide

One 1.8 m wide 4 High reversing roughing stand.
One walking beam furnace.

0.305 MTlYr

1 single strand slab caster

1.44 MTlYr

100 T/Hr

0.36 MTlYr

1.355 MTlYr

0.26 MTlYr of liquid steel

2 LD converter each of 60/66 T Capacitylblow

2 Mixer each of 1100 T capacity in active type

1 BFs of 6,50.000 TlYr Hot Metal capacity.

working volume of 1478 M' & hearth size 9 m.

5000 T/day.

New coil conveyor system & 2 coilers.

Certified as per ISO 9002 OA System

Quick roll changing device, One coil box

Normalising Furnace.
Certffied as per ISO 9002 OA ~ystem

First ste~ plant to introduce LO.

Vacuum Arc refining, Vacuum Oxygen
Refining & stream degassing.

Ca~city

INBA Cast house Slag

Granulation Plant

of 0.4 MTlYr

2.0MTlYr of HOI Metal

4 Blast .Furnaces

3 BFs each of 4,50,000 TNr Hot Metql capacity, '

working volume of each is 1020.6 Ml & hearth
size 7.4 m diameter.

Furnace No. 2.3&4 a.e prOVIded

with BlT system
Hot metal desulphurisation dOne by
Calcium Carbide injection

1.57 MT 01 sinter I Yr

1 mach1ne of sintering area of 162 M2

sint~r/Y(

Coke & Flux crushing and base mix

preparation facilities available for supply
to sinter plant.

Special Features

1.5 MT of

5 MTlYr

Capacities

2 machines. each has a sintering area of 125 M2

Manganese Ore are handled. Base mix

preparation

Iron ore (Fines & Lumps), Lime stone &

Bledning Plant

4.

5 Batteries

-3 Batteries of 70 ovens each

-2 Batteries of 80 ovens each

ure Beddmg and

3 .. Sintering Plant-I

2.

1. Coke Oven

Facilities

Brief Description of Rourkela Steel Plant

Department

5.4

......
00

..

...

14. Captive Power Plant-II

2 units x 60 MW

5 Nos Turbo Blo~vers

2 Nos MP Boilers

120 MW

Blower House for BF Suppfy process

steam for all PlantJUnit
128 MW

2 Nos Gas fired HB Boilers

2 Nos Multiple fuel H'3 Boilers
5x25MWTA
1x3 MWBPTA

2 Nos FBC HB Boilers

13. Captive Power Plant1

9002 OA System

The only integrated planl to have a

Fertilizer Complex. Sells intermechate
products like AmmonI3., Nitric Acid.
Ammonium Nitrate Melt &. Lumps.

API Grade Pipes.

C".rt~jed .. par ISO

O.36MT Gross CAN/Yr

0.55 MTfYr. of SW pipes

0.75 MTfYr. 01 ERW

OA System. Recorivnended for ad",,_

of ISO 1400 1 Environment
Management System.

Hydraulics AGC Certified as pe rlSO 9002

Jet ..coating &. torruga:ion faci!ity

Certifoed as per ISO 9002 06. S)'Stem

Special Features

To produce Calcium Ammonium Nitrate (trade

name is 'SON A') utilising the NO! Produce in Air
Separation unit of Tonnage Oxygen Plant & H2 is
recovered from Naphtha supplied by MIS HPCL.
CI\N contains 2'5% Nitrogen.

-.:........

Thickness 5.56-9.52 mm

ERWPP 3 high, 1400 mm wide,

Pipe 00,219,1406.4 mm,
Thickness 4.89.56 mm
SWpp Pipe 00 ~57.21625.6 mm

0.0375 MTfY

0.036MTfYr

0.16 MTfYr.
0.15MTfYr.

0.428 MTfYr.

HR coil as input

0.748 MTfYr. of

Capacities

12. Fertilizer Plant

.........

11. Pipe Plant

CRGO 800 & 900mm widtll, 0.27,0.30 &

0.35mm thick

O.65mm thick

4 high revering mill

CRNO 900, 950 & 1000mm width, 0.50 &

10. Silicon Steel-Mill

2 Pickling line
Two Cold.Reversing Mill of 4 high stand.
Width range 6301540mm & 6001040mm
5 Stand tandem Mill 1420mm , 4 high
3 Skin Pass ~;iII , 4 high

2 Hot Dip galvanizing lines 1220mm width

,Electrolytic Tinning line 5601 040mm

Facilities

9. Cold Holling Mill

Ccpartmcnt .

..-..
c:.::>

50

Material Flow Chart of BSL (after Modern'isation)

Fig: '000 Tonnest Year

Sinter Plant

Dry Coal
4,004

Iron Ore Lump

1825

Iron Ore Frnes

4,793

- l I n d . 2,40'2
limp. 1,602

COk'e ?vens

6,~72 SF Sinter

'

,.

2,7.03 SF Coke

COk~.

SF

r-r'---3-00-7-~l~

304 Ext. Coke

2,797 Skip Coke

Skip Sinter 5,465

lJ!l<lst Furnace

4,585 Ho,!:t!!M~et~a:!...'_____~65:L1~_ _ _ _ _ _,_!'M~F.!..7.!....7

i

3]934

574

1,965

1,969

~------,I

~~--,

2,250 LS

555

2,25P LS

2,200 InQot

..

~lsM'a~b~b~in~g=M=ill==~_ _~_ _ ___

1,900

CCD-21
2,160

4,060 Slab
.lSteel
Iron
Cold

Scrap
Scrap
PIG

405
73
50.7

,
1,245
HRCF

Hot Strip Mill

L--_--,--o---.!

3,955 HR Coil

Steel
Iron
Cold

S9ra p
Scrap
PIG

382.5
73
50.8

920

CR
Sheet
980

GPtGC
Sheet
170

TMSP
100

C9
-0

~-

r-

~~
... ~
~

~=-

-I~

"'....-

=
=

....

Hot Rolled Coil

Finishing

-I

Hot Strip Mill

Slabbing Mill

2(b) CCS Facility (No. of continuous

.....

2
1

Shearing line
Sitting Une

'"'

,..
;-..

0I..L ' -

r/ c

~ ..
~~~ "..

/.:

J;-/
~I

.tI :,

', ;\1 1'

!\ \

':-.,

,. \

.1-"

. h-tl'i

~~ :-"
'\. ......,,~- -

:!l

"At~ (

-1/ _

..

~.. '!I'?
2 ~I Oft'"
1.:1 '"If

...........A-'.
,.
3

12

furnaces inciicated
-2000 mm wide
-Charging rate 260 T/hr.
5 Roughing stands +7 finishing
stand of tandem type
No. of coilers

Hot strip mill with No. of reheating

-each having 4 holes of 160 T Capacity

-1250 mm horizontal stand
-1000 mm vertical stand

soaking pits

Unf~ersal Slabbing Mill with No. of

casting machines)

HR iSheetsIPlate
HR Slit Coil

HR Co~ (Total)

Steel Slabs

Concast Slabs

-do:

liquid Steel

1. LO Converter

Steel Melting

-100/130 T Capacity
2 (a). LO Converter -3001
350 T Capacity

Hotmetzl

Fluxed Skip Sinter

B F.Coke (.2Smm)

Annual Capacities

Mod

4.0MT

N~mbcr' at

2000 M' Blast Furnace

- 2640 T/day Capacity
-Hearth size 9.75 m

-252 sq. m. area

Sintering Machine

4.7 m high each

27.3 m' capacity each

Coke Oven BallcfJes

- 69 ovens each

1.7MT

Blast Furnance

Sinter Plant

Coke Oven

Principal Units
(Description)

Brief Description of Bokaro Steel Plant

Plant! Shop

5.5

0.880

1.43

1465

1.7

2.735

3.7

209

1.7 MT

"

1.200

0.920

1.100

3.955

1.90

0.400

3.363

3"9

2.16

225

22S
2.5
1.5

4.585

62

3 <8

MO<1.

4.585

62

3 .. 8

Million Tonncs at
4.0 MT

.,

c...'
.....

f) Plate Mill

DEPARTMENT

Saleable steel

-2000 mm Pickling line(on HzSO..)

Cold Rolling

Plant

Under 2.5 MT

Million Tonnes

-Hot Dip Galvanising line

CR SlitCoi!

(2+t)
0.475

1.7MT

Addition under 6th

SF Complex

-2000 mm Single stand skin Pass Mill

-1420 mm twin stand temper OCR mill
-Shearing and slitting line

1420 mm Pickling line(on HCI)

-Four Stand 200mm Tandem Mill
Five Stand 1420 mm Tandem Mill
8ell type Annealing line
. -Tower type continuous Annealing line

Principal Units
(Description)

Plan V Shop

.,
t
t
(5+3)
1.390
1
1.390

Mod

120T/hr capacily Mill

3 Reheating furnace of

Addition under 4.0 MT

Expansion

~t

one vertical edger, one

reversing 4 Hi. roughing
stand and one reversing
4 HI, Finishing stand, two
leveler & two shearing lines

comprises of one descaler

4.0MT

Numbers

0.495

Annealed Coil
Annealed Coil
Skin Passed Coil
Black Plate
CR sheet. CR coil &

Plate

Product

3.160

3.780

0.170

0.100

0.100

0.170

1.510
0.05

1.728

1.729

Mod.

1.5tO
0.05

1.728

1.729

4.0MT

Million Tonncs a1

2.5

Under

Under 6th SF
Complex

950

4/.1T

Under

Annual Capacities In 1000 T

1.355

0.495

Cold Rolled Coil

Galvanized Plain &

Corrugated sheets

0.496

1.7 MT
Pickled Coil

Annual Capacllics

[-.;)

c."

53
5.7 Product Mix of SAIL Plants
FnelllUcs/ProduCIs
I.

liol MOlol

; 2,

CrudolLlQuid Siool

Bokaro

Durgapur

Rourkela

liSCO

4080,0
4000,0

4585,0
4500,00

2088.0
1876,0

2000.0
1900,00

670,0
380,00

3, Saleablo Stool

a) Sami IOf salo

b) Flnlshod SloeI'
I) FIOIt Product

0,

IlnS11001S. Coil & Plalos

Skolp

299,0
490,5

950,0

Wido Heavy Pial OS

2120',0
180,0

CRCoilS/Strip/ShoOIS
TMBP

1390,0
100,\)

433,0

17.0,0

160,0
73.5
75,0 .
55,0

Electrolytic Tin Plates

Galvanised .~heolslcoils
Silicon Steel

ERW Pipes
Spiral Welded Pipes

950.0

Sub Tolal (I)

Ii) Non Flat product

Bhllil

Structural
Merchant Products
Wire Rods

Rails

:. ",

3780.0

180,0

,'.

250,0
500.00
400,00
500,00

166.0
111.0

56,0
16.0

Spocial Sections

3150.0
"

293,0

545.0

1650.0

Total Saleable Steel

1671.0

207.0
260,0

Wheels & Axles

Sub Total (ii)

'.

3780.0

1586.0

1671.0

305.0

3. saleable,pi

lron

Total Saleable Steel

. 2. Saleable Steel
_Blooms/Billets/Cuttings
- Siabe for Sale
- Rails & Strls
_ Merchant Products
- Wire Rods
- Plates

Total

1.lngot Steel/Crude Steel

'- S M S-I
- S M S -II

.. Products

SAIL: Bhilai Steel Plant

"

332

3153
630

3615

750
500
400
950

553

798
347
700
530
440
800

450

200

101

103
233

232 .

223

3383
3500
3307
3450

3352 .

3500
3411

680

440

164
663
461
522
626
334
695
500
475
640

877
839
-267
300
594
716
450
500 .
482
460
/637
685
962
358
478
495
458
660
951
189
688
502

950
270
568
464
440
660

946_

3967
4100
3837

4025

3745

3810

4150

4250

4000

856

2368
1599
2340
1760

2278
1559

2340
1685

2207
1538

2200
1610

2524:
1626

2001-02
Target Actual
Original

2400
1850

2000-01
Target Actual
Original

Qty:(,OOOT)

2500
1500

1999-00
1998-99
Target Actual Target Actual
Rated
. Original
Capacit y Original

PRODUCTION AND PRODUCT -MIX

c:.1l

.......

103

4133

2983
2926
2713
2445
2458

2399

200102

3008

1990-91
1991-92
1992-93
1993-94
1994-95
1995-96
1996-97 .
1997-98
1998-99
1999-00
2000:01

1989-90

430
504
457
544
534
389
314
202
297
322
96
175
135
300
278
272
243
324
232
223
200 .

2041
2115
2130
1837
1925
1890
1526
1657
1917
19H
2074
2156
2323
2395
2415
2352
23e9
2455
2524
2207
2278
2368

34175

70
429
650
754
1080
1236
1352
1517
1542
1558
1636
1721
H93
1768
1626
1538
1559
1599

371
367
352
232
338
345
362
352
372
411
406
423
393
428
370
330
414
453
441
458
482
522
413
.413
368
341
384
362
335
401
375
411
453
469
479
494
500
512
512
579
2146 1148
639
2143 la78
601
2163 1101
491
972
1847
542
1982 1051
551
950
1931
491
812
1588
515
958
1749
611
1916 1022
565
1983 1158
554
2041 1213
604
2153 1311
614
2209 1361
646
2283 1455
668
2400 1494
682
2340 . 1452
691
2350 1490
637
,
2303 1607
2376 1675
5E 8
2380 1693 . 478
595
2257 1761
663
2338 1873
,,

464
495
450
461

500

4362

7307

2041
2115
2130
1837
1995
2319
2176
2411
2997
3153
3426
3673
3865
.3953
4051
4073
4187
4223
.4150
3745
3837
3967

(Oly in OOO'T)

12
50
294
374
381
574
597
651
674
660
621
669
818
772
712
660
660
637
626

27656

1818
455
1819
400
1838
517
.
1574
498
496 .. 1810
2055
503
2150
588
. 2173
524
2542
610
2594
610
2795
731
3104
934
3118
972
. 1146
3335
3409
1202
3495
1153
3582
1193
3524
1222
3352
1219
3411
1320
3308
1144
3383
1110

6447

TOTAL
Wire
MM
.Rails!
Ingot
Rolled Billets Strls. Products Rods Plate S Semis S!STEEL

3417 5 3421 8 18407 . 9540

Crude Steel
S1I1S- 1 SMS-2 Total

2214
2377
2330.
2124
2339
2604
2510
2556
3306
3486
3549
3861
4045
4251
4336
4383
4397 .
4517
"377
'P956 .
4072

36329 39527 11033

Iron

Pig

2066
2197
2093
2027
2033
2192
2087
2110
2484
2621
2772
2872
2841
3001
3042

UPTO
1979-80
FOR
1980-81
1981-82
1982-83
1983-84
1984-85
1985-86
1986-87
1987-88
1988-89

YEAR

Hot
+25mm
Coke Dry Metal

PRODUCTION SINCE INCEPTION - B.S.P.

UI
c....

56
5:8-

Metallurgical Process under Consideration for Implementation in Future.

KR process of reduction smelting using non cooking coals.
Solid/Gas based direct reduction of iron.
Palletizing of iron ore concentrates.
Formed coke making
DR-EAF route of steel making
Combined blowing in LD converters.
, .
Ladle refining of steel
Thin strip casting

Production clean steel,.

Net shape casting.

5.9

Status of Technologies in SAIL Plants

Raw Materials
AI 2 0 3 content in iron ore is high (2.5%) and AI 20jSi0 2 ratio is adverse (1.5-2.5)
The washing and Beneficiation facilities are inadequate at mineq.
,
Size range of raw material is wide and oversize and undersize fractiohs are high. The
crushing and screening facilities at mines as well as at steel plant are insufficient.
Fluctuation in chemical analysis of raw materials is high. The bedding and blending
facilities are inadequate and inefficient.
The fluxing materials are high and acid insoluble. The beneficiation of fluxes is nonexistent.
The sizing,_beneficiation and blending facilities vary from plant to plant. The capacity
utilisation of the facilities provided is very low.

Coal & Coke

Tre blending facilities for coal are either non-existent or inadequate.
The coal blends are dependent on erratic supply pattern of coal. There is no established
optimum blend.
Crushing index of coal (-) 3 mm is less than 80%
Under charging of oven is prevalent in most of the plants
Coking periods are high, more than 20 hours particularly in liSCO, DSP & RSP.
Coke cutting facilities are inadequate to keep the +80 mm fractiori.at minimum.
Strength of coke is poor. M 10 index of coke is more than 1 0 in almost all the plants.

Agglomeration (Sintering)
Fuel and flux crushing indices are low;- (-) 3mm is less than 90% in all the plants.
Inconsistency in chemical composition and :Sinter mix proportioning.

57

Poor sealing system of machines does not allow suction more than 800mm WS.
,

Machines are designed for 1000-1400mm suction.

Smelting capacities provided at ASP, DSP are inadequate and there ip no sinter plant
at liSCO.
Use of lime, blue dust and other metallurgical waste in the sinter mix is very low.

; Blast Furnaces
'.

Sinter % in the burden in liSCO blast furnaces in zero, in DSP less than 5'; .7%in RSP
40%. It is 52<;;' in BSP and in BSL it is 75%.

Blast temperature is less than 800C in all plants except BSL & BSP (900-950 0 C)
Only Bhilai and Bokaro biast furnaces are provided with high top pressure.
Screening facilities for sinter at high lines are not provided for all blast furnaces.

02 enrichment of blast is not practised in any of the blast furnaces.

Blast Furnace'r'Jo. 5,6,7 at BSP ~nd Blast furnace No.5 of BSL the only furnaces
equipped with cast house slag granulation.
The burden and gas distribution facilities are inadequate. The movable throat aimors,
bell-less charging, gas temperature probes are now under consideration. At Bokaro,
Blast furnaces are now having Bell-less-Top charging system.
Coal Dust Injection (COl) system is installed in Blast Furnace No.4 at BSL to replace
coke in 1:1 ratio.
Blast Furnace No.5 at BSL is equipped with hydraulic mudguh.

Steel Making
The quality of hot metal as well as flux is poor.
The open-hearth process of steel making has become uneconomical. Out of 1~.4MT
of Steel Making capacity at present only 7MT is planned through LD converters.
The lining life of LD converters is less than 200-600 heats due to constraints posed by
poor quality of hot metal, flux and refractories.
The heat time in LD converters is very high (60-100 mines).
Application of ladle refining process in all our steel plant~ is missing except a few
facilities at RSP, BSP and ASP.
The ingot casting practices employed are old.
The track time is very high.

Rolling Mills
Poor yield in primary mills.
Due to aging of equipments in plants like liSCO and obsolete technology of rOiling. the
quality and dimensional tolerances of product~ are inferior.
Miles availability is low due to poor maintenance practices.