What people say about us !

This is my first visit to ur site. I am delighted with the impressive whisper gathering.

Anant Ajay Reddy

DO YOU WANT TO REACH THE DECISION MAKERS ?

ADVERTISE ON-WHISPERSINTHECORRIDORS.COM
Contact-sureshmehrotra@yahoo.com

Mr.S.K.Roongta Chairman of the Steel Authority of India Ltd(SAIL)is a man with clear concepts and his perspective is quite posititive.In an interview to whispersinthecorridorscom while unfolding his plans Mr.Roongta said "my vision is to make SAIL a world class company - a company that is agile, innovative and aggressive.A rejuvenated organisation will naturally then consistently outperform
competition."

The issue of inorganic growth through acquisitions is also on our horizon and will be considered at the opportune moment,he said adding "In the meantime, SAIL has been on the lookout of the opportunities for mergers & acquisitions in the domestic market. We are in the process of setting up a dealers' network through which our steel will become available in every district in India."

The steel major according to SAIL Chairman has also taken up IT initiatives to integrate all existing business systems incorporating 'best practices'.
We are in touch with the top technology suppliers in the industry. Meetings were held with technology suppliers in Europe, where Indian Minister for Steel Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan recently led a delegation of steel producers and bureaucrats from the Ministry of Steel.Here goes his interview:

1. What scenario do you see by the year 2020?

Ans. As per the National Steel Policy drawn up by the Ministry of Steel, India is expected to achieve annual steel production capacity of around 110 million tonnes by 2020. Target has been worked out on the basis of a compounded annual growth rate of 7.3% per annum. However, considering the current growth rate, the above will be achieved much earlier.

2. Is SAIL ready to face the challenges that will arise once POSCO and MITTAL groups have set up their units?

Ans: We have made our growth plan not only for expansion of capacity but also for addressing the aspects of quality, cost competitiveness, efficiency parameters including meeting environmental norms. SAIL has successfully demonstrated its fundamental strengths of keeping business running even during the most difficult times of downturn in steel industry. SAIL is fully geared up to face the challenges arising out of addition in capacity in the country and as such does not expect any problem.

3. Are you concerned by the industry's dependence on the China market in the event of a downturn?

Ans. The growth of Indian steel industry in the coming years will be driven by the domestic market factors. India's overall exports in the world market today are just around 2%. So in terms of physical growth the Indian steel industry will not be overtly dependent on any external market.

However, any downturn in the Chinese economy which accounts for more than 30% of the global steel consumption will have an impact through the international prices of steel products. I hope that the Indian steel sector in coming years will be able to gain cost competitiveness to withstand competition from imports.

4. What capital requirements to you see arising in the coming years? How do you see these needs being met?

Ans. SAIL will be spending about Rs. 37,000 crore towards its expansion program. A large part of the expansion plan will be financed through the company's internal resources. For the remaining part the company will go for borrowings, but the overall borrowings will be limited to keep the debt to equity ratio at a level of 1:1.

5. Are any steps for innovating your operations on the anvil?

Ans. SAIL is implementing a massive expansion programme that among other things will almost double its capacity to 22 MT of steel by 2010. Besides capacity enhancement, the growth plan addresses the need of the SAIL plants and units towards eliminating technological gaps, interlinking product profile with the growth segments and focusing on customer centric business processes. The long term plan is to build sustainable competencies.


6. You have recently taken over as Chairman of SAIL. Would you care to describe your vision for the Company and your immediate short term objectives?

Ans. My vision is to make SAIL a world class company - a company that is agile, innovative and aggressive. A rejuvenated organisation will naturally then consistently outperform competition. Today we rank as the 17th largest steel company internationally. Given the growth prospects in the Indian steel sector it should be possible for us to take a position amongst the top 10 steel companies in the world.

Our immediate concern is to ensure the long term security of key inputs viz. iron ore and coking coal for the company. We are taking up a capital expenditure programme of approximately USD 8 billion which will increase our hot metal production by 60%. Projects worth USD 4 billion are at various stages of implementation. These projects have to be executed in the most efficient manner and we should be able to leapfrog on the technological front both in terms of process efficiency as well as product quality, on the strength of planned capital expenditure.

7. The global steel industry seems set for a period of consolidation, encouraged by the world's largest steel maker. Do you support this trend and what part will SAIL play in this process?

Ans. Steel for long has been one of the most fragmented industries. The share of top five producers in the global output was just about 12% in early nineties. After a decade of move towards consolidation today this proportion has improved to 21% in 2005, and may increase to 25 to 30% in next 5 years or so. This trend is of a great benefit to the steel industry as it can reduce the volatility and the cyclicality that has been a bane of the industry. Global consolidation of the industry will improve the bargaining power of the industry vis-à-vis input suppliers, and also enable the industry to take quick decisions regarding regulating of production in line with market demand.

The issue of inorganic growth through acquisitions is also on our horizon and will be considered at the opportune moment. In the meantime, SAIL has been on the lookout of the opportunities for mergers & acquisitions in the domestic market. We have merged our subsidiary IISCO with the parent company during 2005-06. We are also progressing on takeover of Neelanchal Ispat Nigam Limited, a public sector unit in the State of Orissa, which has a hot metal capacity of about 1 million tones, and expansion plan for steel making facilities. We are also examining takeover of units in the business of refractory making and ferro-alloys by way of backward integration.

8. What do you consider to be the principal competitive advantages of SAIL?

Ans. As I said earlier, we have plans to expand our overall capacity by 60%. This expansion can take place in the existing plants by way of brown-field expansion. This should make our capacity expansion programme relatively less costly and faster as the basic infrastructure to support expansion program already exists. A second advantage we possess is in the form of our experienced and skilled manpower. We have decades of experience in steel making and rolling. Our research and development center is one of the biggest in Asia and we have developed a number of products for newer applications. A third advantage we possess is in terms of a wide distribution network that has a country-wide reach. We are in the process of setting up a dealers' network through which our steel will become available in every district in India. These are some of the competitive advantages with SAIL.

9. What are your productivity targets and how do you expect SAIL to contribute to the target of 110 million tons of steel to be produced in India by 2020?

Ans To begin with we are raising our hot metal production from a current level of around 14.5 million tonnes to around 23 million tonnes. Subsequently we may raise our production to 40 to 50 million tonnes by way of brown-field and green-field expansions. The current indicators are that with the growth in consumption and the announced plans of steel companies, the target of steel production of 110 million tones can be attained earlier than 2020.

10. How do you hope to increase the future profitability of SAIL? Do you aim to increase margins through altering the product mix towards the production of higher grade steels?

Ans. The expansion plan of SAIL aims at eliminating technological gaps in the production process, improving productivity levels for all stages right from raw materials to rolling mills, bringing in technologies for energy savings, yield improvement, pollution control and automation. Wider product-mix with emphasis on value added products, improved product quality, enhancement in grades and dimension will be ensured. Just to give you a flavour of the new products that we will be producing, I would like to mention a few namely SAW line pipes for the fast-growing oil and gas sector, CRGO steels- a product in severe short supply globally, wide flange beams for the construction sector and colour coated sheets. Thus, the margins are expected to improve both as result of process improvement as well as richer product-mix. We have also taken up IT initiatives to integrate all existing business systems incorporating 'best practices'.

11. How do you plan to acquire the technology to ensure that SAIL achieves best practice in steel production, so as to ensure global competitiveness? Will joint ventures with international partners play a part?

Ans. We are in touch with the top technology suppliers in the industry. Meetings were held with technology suppliers in Europe, where our Hon. Union Minister for Steel Mr. Ram Vilas Paswan recently led a delegation of steel producers and bureaucrats from the Ministry of Steel. We look forward to technological tie ups and Joint Ventures with international partners, and will be working in this direction.

Sahi unlikely to get extension
If insiders are to be believed Secretary Power R V Sahi is not getting further extension beyond 62 years of age.

Kaun Banega CBDT Chairman ? (1)
Name of senior most IRS officer R R Singh has suddenly cropped up.Reports of 1969 batch officer Singh getting three months extension have also started pouring in.If he doesn't get extension he will retire next month. Wait and watch ?.

Jadhav to be CVO GAIL
Arvind Jadhav is being appointed CVO of the GAIL. 1978 batch Karnataka cadre IAS officer Jadhav is presently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power.

Civil servants may go on contract ?
Secretaries in the govt could be appointed on contract with their salaries and tenure linked to performance, a proposal being considered by the 6th pay commision. Purpose is to making the civil service responsible for results as per commision.

Political storm in the offing in Rajasthan
There are talks of an affidavit in Rajasthan which, when released, may bring a political storm in the state. What does the affidavit in question contains? Let us leave it for the people to guess.

Basith to be DGP of AP !
In all probability M A Basith will be new DGP of Andhra Pradesh next month end. He is 1970 batch IPS officer.

D P Sinha is back to UP
After repatriation D P Sinha is back to the parent Uttar Pradesh cadre from his central deputation. On return 1972 batch IPS officer Sinha has been appointed DG Fire Services.

Tenure of Ganeshan expires
Deputation tenure of P Ganeshan Director Tobacco Board has expired on Saturday. He is 1990 batch IAS officer of Karnataka cadre.

Tenure of Anuradha expires
Tenure of Director in the Cabinet Secretariat Anuradha Durgpal has also expired on Saturday. Anuradha is 1988 batch IP&TA & FS officer.

FORUM

Recently I had a dream
Recently I had a dream. I saw a big house like the one in the new serial BIG BOSS on Sony TV. Only difference was that instead of the 13 Tv and film stars, the following were inside - 1. Sonia Gandhi 2. Manmohan Singh 3. Mulayam Singh 4. Lalu Prasad 5. Amar Singh 6. J Jaylalitha 7. Mayawati 8. A B Vajpayee 9. L K Advani 10. Uma Bharati 11. Ambika Soni 12. Mani Shanker Ayyar 13. A Common Man. The interactions between them ranged from a variety of topics. Rules were different. They were supposed to be together for 13 hours only and each hour, the group had to vote out one individual. The happenings and talks inside the house are very interesting.

I will share it if Mr Mehrotra wants it.
Abhishek

Wider debate is welcome

Mr Rajeevrattan's comment is revealing of the typical prejudiced mindset.He unwittingly equates Police Act with IPS and goes on to further equate with IRS etc. Yes, a wider debate is welcome-even ncessary-but do remember that we are talking about 2-3 million policemen, not just a few thousand All India Servces/Central Services officers.Also,do remember that ultimately our emergence as a global power depends heavily on the quality of Law and Order we provide.

S K Rizvi

IAS should also be included
Why the screening should be limited to only few services?IAS should also be included in it
Ranjan

WHAT GOES AROUND COMES AROUND

He almost didn't see the old lady, stranded on the side of the road,
but even in the dim light of day, he could see she needed help. So he
pulled up in front of her Mercedes and got out. His Pontiac was still sputtering when he approached her.

Even with the smile on his face, she was worried. No one had stopped to
help for the last hour or so. Was he going to hurt her? He didn't look safe; he looked poor and hungry.

He could see that she was frightened, standing out there in the cold.
He knew how she felt. It was that chill which only fear can put in you. He said, "I'm here to help you, ma'am. Why don't you wait in the car where it's warm? By the way, my name is Bryan Anderson."

Well, all she had was a flat tire, but for an old lady, that was bad
enough. Bryan crawled under the car looking for a place to put the jack, skinning his knuckles a time or two. Soon he was able to change the tire. But he had to get dirty and his hands hurt.

As he was tightening up the lug nuts, she rolled down the window and
began to talk to him. She told him that she was from St. Louis and was only just passing through. She couldn't thank him enough for coming to her aid.

Bryan just smiled as he closed her trunk. The lady asked how much she
owed him. Any amount would have been all right with her. She already
imagined all the awful things that could have happened had he not stopped. Bryan never thought twice about being paid. This was not a job to him. This was helping someone in need, and God knows there were plenty who had given him a hand in the past. He had lived his whole life that way, and it never occurred to him to act any other way.

He told her that if she really wanted to pay him back, the next time
she saw someone who needed help, she could give that person the assistance they needed, and Bryan added, "And think of me."

He waited until she started her car and drove off. It had been a cold
and depressing day, but he felt good as he headed for home, disappearing into the twilight.

A few miles down the road the lady saw a small cafe. She went in to
grab a bite to eat, and take the chill off before she made the last leg of her trip home. It was a dingy looking restaurant. Outside were two old gas pumps. The whole scene was unfamiliar to her. The waitress came over and brought a clean towel to wipe her wet hair. she had a sweet smile, one that even being on her feet for the whole day couldn't erase. The lady noticed the waitress was nearly eight months pregnant, but she never let the strain and aches change her attitude. The old lady wondered how someone who had so little could be so giving to a stranger. Then she remembered Bryan.

After the lady finished her meal, she paid with a hundred dollar bill.
The waitress quickly went to get change for her hundred-dollar bill, but the old lady had slipped right out the door. She was gone by the time the waitress came back. The waitress wondered where the lady could be. Then she noticed something written on the napkin. There were tears in her eyes when she read what the lady wrote: "You don't owe me anything. I have been there too. Somebody once helped me out, the way I'm helping you. If you really want to pay me back, here is what you do: Do not let this chain of love end with you."

Under the napkin were four more $100 bills.
Well, there were tables to clear, sugar bowls to fill, and people to
serve, but the waitress made it through another day. That night when she got home from work and climbed into bed, she was thinking about the money and what the lady had written. How could the lady have known how much she and her husband needed it? With the baby due next month, it was going to be hard..

She knew how worried her husband was, and as he lay sleeping next to
her, she gave him a soft kiss and whispered soft and low, "Everything's
gonna be all right. I love you, Bryan Anderson."

H ere is an old saying "What goes around comes around." Today, I sent
you this story, and I'm asking you to pass it on ... Let this light shine.

Contributed by-Virag Gupta
Mumbai

Aaj Ki Aawaz

UP is now wilder than the wildest west,
Everyday Goons have in UP a fest!!!

See the recent kidnapping of Abode CEO's kid……. now the auto driver and the kid's grandpa have torn the UP Police's tall claims to shreds!!!! UP is going from bad to worse with every passing day and with the State election around the corner things are going to get from worse to horrific!!! And it's a well know fact that goons in UP ask for protection money from every second UPite and then pay protection money themselves!!!! Who do the goons pay??? Well your guess is as good as mine!!!!

The ads during Amrinder's Yatra are going to get Chahal and Company into a soup,
Because its obvious with Public money Chahal and Company tired ki Public ho jaye dupe!!

Why did the Punjab Publicity Department aka Amrinder's Publicity Department morph ads to show crowds at Amrinder's Yatra???? What was the need to issue ads about Amrinder's Yatra!!! This is no achievement by the Punjab Government on which ads need to be issued by the Government!!!


No one is buying Laloo's horse,
Not even if Laloo uses force!!!

Laloo wants to sell his horse but is finding no buyers!!!! Laloo says the horse understand English!!! And like Laloo's gifted cow can also do some soothsaying by shaking his head to questions!!! I would advice Laloo to ask the horse….. ' Am I the reason why no one is buying you' and the horse is going to shake his head in approval!!! No one is going to buy a horse whose owner is considered to be a 'inferior cousin of the horse'!!!!

Ram Jethmalani says he'll do everything to save Manu,
Says Public demand 'mein naa maanu'!!!

His family , friends and even the Public have pleaded with him not to take Manu's case but Jethmalani is like the proverbial ' mein naa maanu'!!!! Think its time we changed his name form Ram Jethmalani to Ravan Jethmalani!!! Confucious says "If the laws could speak for themselves, they would complain about lawyers like Jethmalani in the first place." He's in contempt of Law……. Law was not made to let the gulty get away!!!

Bharat Kumar

Is it not a mystery ?
Why the official orders of the appointment of R S Sharma as CMD of the ONGC have not been issued so far ?.Petroleum circles are amazed .Sharma still continues to be acting CMD despite his selection by the PESB.

NHPC panel may be scrapped ?
NHPC has been headless since May, 2005. The first panel drawn up by the Ministry of Power had to be scrapped due to CBI report on the shortlisted candidate.
Interviews were again held in June this year. However,the proposal has not been sent to the Cabinet for approval. It is now believed that the process to cancel
this panel is likely to start shortly. Similar is the fate of the panel for the post of Chairman, BBMB. RV ShahiSecretary(Power), it seems, has not been able to make
up his mind on these two important appointments. Is Cabinet Secretary aware of this ?

HAL MD interview on MondayI
nterview for the post of MD HAL will take place on Monday.

Anti -graft act to cover private sector !
Amendments in act will allow CBI, police to book corporate bigwigs on a verifiable complaint. As of now white collar crime in India, as opposed to the case in US where corporate fraud is heavily punished, is not seen to be prosecuted strongly enough.

GAIL CMD interview on November 21
Interview for the post of CMD GAIL will take place on November 21.