Archive for the 'SAIL' Category

With one of its best officers at the helm several hospital and medical college projects are making progress

Angul, Anugul- Talcher - Saranga- Nalconagar, Balangir, Berhampur- Gopalpur- Chhatrapur, Bhubaneswar- Cuttack- Puri, Cuttack, Ganjam, HEALTHCARE and HOSPITALS, Keonjhar, Khordha, Koraput, Koraput- Jeypore- Sunabedha- Damanjodi, Medical, nursing and pharmacy colleges, Odisha govt. action, Rayagada- Therubali, Rourkela- Kansbahal, SAIL, State Bureaucrats (IAS, OAS, etc.), State Ministers, Sundergarh 6 Comments »

Update: SAIL RSP has now agreed to consider upgrading IGH (Ispat general Hospital) to a medical college. All that was needed was the CM asking for it. The Odia papers suggest that he already agreed. If this works out then the 4 public sectors MCL, NTPC, NALCO and SAIL will each be making medical colleges at Talcher, Sundergarh, Koraput and Rourkela respectively.

If the IGH upgradation happens it will be the second medical college in Rourkela. (Note that HiTech medical college is now operational in Rourkela and has taken the first batch of MBBS students.) When the NTPC medical college is made in Sundergarh, the medical college count in that district will then go to 3.

Next Odisha government must push the other companies that heavily use Odisha minerals to contribute at the similar level. The TATAs who have mining in Odisha for more than 100 years should be told to establish medical colleges in Joda-Barbil and Sukinda-Kalinganagar and do much more.


Following are some of the projects that are in progress as collected from various media reports.

  • NALCO has agreed to build a medical college at Koraput. A few days back (I think sometime in June 2012) the state government decided to ask NALCO for this and this was in the media around July 3rd. The NALCO officials met the concerned government officials on July 5th and NALCO immediately agreed to this proposal. In the past the public sectors MCL and NTPC had agreed to establish medical colleges in Talcher and Sundergarh respectively. Odisha now must push SAIL for a medical college in Rourkela.
  • As per this Times of India report: "New Delhi-based OSL Group’s Centre for Joint Disorders will established a 150-seat medical college, 750-bed super-speciality hospital, a dental college and a nursing college in Bhubaneswar. The group has promised to start work within two months…"
  • As per this Times of India report: "The upcoming Sardar Rajas medical college and hospital at Jaring in Kalahandi district, being established by Selvam Education and Charitable Trust of Tamil Nadu, will start admitting students from the next academic year …"
  • As per this Times of India report: "The sDFID of UK has been preparing a report to facilitate a medical college in Balangir. "
  • As per this Times of India report: "land transfer work for the proposed medical college by Sahyog Foundation in Keonjhar will be fast-tracked"
  • As per this Times of India report: "the government would soon examine the proposals of Basantidevi Charitable Trust and Bidyabharti Charitable Trust as well to open a medical college in Rayagada."
  • As per this Times of India report: "The government has also agreed in principle to a proposal from Shankar Netralaya of Chennai to start a 200-bed eye hospital in Berhampur."
  • As per this Times of India report: "The government on Tuesday asked Bangalore-based Narayana Hrudayalaya, which has taken land from the state government to establish a super-speciality hospital in Bhubaneswar, or start work or return the land. The group assured to start work by September.
  • As per this article in Business Standard: " Odisha government today asked the Centre to set up a National Institute of Mental Health and Neuro-Science (NIMHANS) besides expediting establishment of a para-medical training institute in the state."
  • As per this article in Telegraph: "The Acharya Harihar Cancer Institute at Cuttack will be upgraded and seats along with number of employees will be enhanced, said Union Health Secretary Prasanna Kumar Pradhan while attending a review meeting here on Sunday. It will be an apex institute in the country, Pradhan added. In the review meeting, Pradhan said Rs 200 crore would be sanctioned during the 12th Five-Year Plan to upgrade this premier cancer treatment institute of the State. Now the institute has 320 beds which will be increased to 600, he added."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "the minister also asked the Union health secretary to expedite process for establishment of the proposed Regional Institute of Paramedical Sciences (RIPS). The state government has already given around 25 acre land for the paramedical institute near the AIIMS."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "The state government sought financial assistance for infrastructure development of the three medical colleges to increase the MBBS seat strength from the current 150 to 250 each."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "The government also submitted a proposal to create super-speciality disciplines in VSS Medical College and Hospital, Burla and MKCG Medical College and Hospital, Berhampur. The government has sought central assistance of Rs 150 crore each for superspeciality faculty in the two hospitals."
  • As per this article in Times of India: "Acharya requested the Union health secretary to upgrade the geriatric ward of SCB Medical College and Hospital into a Regional Geriatric centre. Designating a regional centre will attract better central funding, Acharya said. "

A good news and a bad news:

  • Good News: Hi-Tech medical college in Rourkela has got approval to admit 100 students fro this academic year. This will be the 4th private medical college (and the first outside of Bhubaneswar) in operation in Odisha.
  • Bad News: KIMS Bhubaneswar has been debarred to admit students for two year.

SAIL proposes a port in Odisha

Ports and waterways, Railways, SAIL 3 Comments »

Following is an excerpt from a report in Business Standard.

With expansion of its units in eastern India in pipelines, public sector steel major, SAIL today evinced keen interest in setting up a port in Orissa, official sources said.

A delegation of Steel Authority of India’s (SAIL) top executives today met chief secretary T K Mishra and other senior officers here to seek the state government’s assistance for the proposed port by the steel giant.

We have assured the SAIL officials of all help if they are keen for a port project," Chief Secretary T K Mishra told reporters, adding that the proposed port would help the public sector to transport coal for its requirement. The proposed port having a capacity of handling 20 million tonnes of cargo would be located anywhere in the state’s 480 KM coastline, Mishra said.
    
The state government had asked SAIL to find any of the 13 places already identified by the state’s transport and commerce department for setting up a port.

The interest in ports in Odisha is due to the mining belt and the related industrial belt in Jharkhand, Chhatisgarh, Odisha and West Bengal. These ports will help the growth of the coastal parts of Odisha. Odisha should leverage these ports to develop communication channles (especially railway lines such as Talcher-Bimlagarh, Khurda Balangir, Gopalpur-Rayagada, Chakulia-Buramara) as well as some logistics hubs in appropriate places in the western parts of Odisha such as Titlagarh and Jharsuguda.

More on SAIL expansion and its buying of NINL with a total of 20,000 crore investment : a Samaja report

SAIL, Steel Comments Off on More on SAIL expansion and its buying of NINL with a total of 20,000 crore investment : a Samaja report

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SAIL’s expansion plan for Rourkela

Iron Ore, Jajpur, Jajpur Rd- Vyasanagar- Duburi- Kalinganagar, Rourkela- Kansbahal, SAIL, Steel, Sundergarh 1 Comment »

Update: The PIB http://pib.nic.in/release/release.asp?relid=33543 is a Rajya Sabha answer on this topic.

Following are excerpts from a Times of India report.

The Steel Authority of India (SAIL) on Wednesday unveiled plans to expand and modernise the Rourkela Steel Plant (RSP) with an investment of Rs 7,800 crore. RSP, which presently has a capacity of 2.2 million tonnes per annum, would be converted into a four MTPA facility by June, 2010. Its production would be further enhanced to eight MTPA by 2019-20, said company’s director (personnel and raw materials) G Ojha here. According to Ojha, RSP’s expansion is part of SAIL’s plan to invest Rs 49,000 crore in its different units and mines within the next three to three-and-half years. … Ojha said that post-expansion, SAIL’s production capacity would touch 26 MTPA of hot metal compared to its existing capacity of 14.6 MTPA. This would mean 23 MTPA of saleable steel," he informed. The company also intends to spend a substantial sum of money to improve its mining operations, including over Rs 1,100 crore in Orissa, he added. Regarding SAIL’s recent MoU with South Korean company Posco, the director said, "We want to indulge in exchange of technology and people. "We also plan collaboration in research and development activities and accordingly, an eight-member team, comprising four from each company, has been formed. This is just the beginning," he said. He allayed fears that the MoU could lead to SAIL’s privatisation and clarified that the pact was not legally enforceable and just an understanding for collaboration. … The SAIL director also reiterated the company’s interest to takeover the Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited (NINL) in Orissa’s Jajpur district and said, IDBI, as an independent valuer, has already assessed the company’s worth. "In case the stakeholders (MMTC and Orissa government) have any reservations, then we are ready for further parleys. But, ideally, the valuers version should be honoured," he said.

What is the public sector Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) up to?

Central public sector, Coal, MCL, Mining royalty, NALCO, NTPC, R & R, SAIL Comments Off on What is the public sector Mahanadi Coalfields Limited (MCL) up to?

Last week transportation of coal from Mahanadi Coalfields Limited came to a grinding halt and NALCO and NTPC Talcher that depend on that coal got into a critical situation. Following are excerpts from a Newkerala news report that mentions why MCL got into that situation.

Sources said the land losers of Zillinda, Kandhal and Solod affected by Ananta and Bhubaneswari mines stopped Ananata, Jagananath and Bhubaneswari open cast mines and close down the concerned project officers’ offices since yesterday demanding the promised job to the oustees by Mahanadi Coalfield Limited (MCL).

The villagers alleged that MCL authorities did not meet their commitments to provide 80 jobs to them till date forcing them to go for strike.

Similarly the land oustees of Kandhal marched to Lingaraj mine linked to NTPC-kaniha yesterday and stopped the output protesting the non-availability of employment to them as promised by Lingaraj authorities.

Coal transportation from Hngula and Balaram mines had been hit for the last four days due to the road blockade by Soloda villagers demanding jobs.

Angul Collector Girish S N said the authorities were monitoring the situation and senior officials dealing with land acquisition and rehabilitation had been rushed to troubled areas to negotiate with the agitating villagers.

Kalinga Times reported on a letter that CM Naveen Patnaik wrote to the PM on this issue. Following are some excerpts:

In a letter to Singh on Monday, the Chief Minister said that MCL should continue supplying coal to National Aluminium Company (NALCO) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) to help these industries continue uninterrupted power generation.

Blaming the MCL authorities for not extending the rehabilitation and resettlement benefits to the people affected by coal mining, Patnaik said the public sector undertaking should go as per the State’s R&R policy as the Centre was yet to adopt a new policy in this regard.

Extending R&R benefits to the families affected by the operations of MCL will go a long way in improving law and order situation in the region, Patnaik said.

In recent months there have been reports regarding how some R & R issues with respect to Hirakud dam oustees and SAIL Rourkela still remains unresolved after several decades. It seems that many public sector companies with their central government connections are arrogant and have not done R & R properly. As a result people do not trust R & R promises made by anyone (private or public companies) and as a result various projects that could help Orissa get out of the bottom, are getting inordinately delayed.

Collection of old links on investments and investment plans

Anil Ambani group, Arcelor Mittal, Birlas, Central public sector, CIL, Indian majors, Industrial houses, INVESTMENTS and INVESTMENT PLANS, IOC, L & T, MCL, Mukesh Ambani group, NALCO, NTPC, POSCO, SAIL, Tatas, Vedanta Comments Off on Collection of old links on investments and investment plans

Following is somewhat of a dated collection on investments and investment plans in Orissa.