RINL gets 28 bids, but CPSEs, SCCL keep away
Union leaders allege that mostly firms with poor track record have submitted bids; Some overseas cos also in fray
Why did RINL’s debt widen to over ₹20,000 crore?
Roller-coaster Game
- RINL facing disinvestment threat since Jan 2021
- It issued EoI seeking working capital in exchange for steel products
- TS govt showed interest initially, but latter backed off
- Employees agitating against privatisation
Visakhapatnam: The last date for submission of bids to the expression of interest (EoI) notice issued by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), the corporate entity of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (VSP), concluded on Thursday with the trade unions alleging failure of the central government in directing central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) like NMDC or SAIL to respond to the notification.
The unions said in the long-term interest of the steel plant, which has an installed capacity of 7.3 million tonne (MT) of liquid steel, NMDC or SAIL partnering with the company would have been mutually beneficial.
RINL issued EoI on March 27 seeking bids for providing working capital or raw materials to it in exchange for its finished steel products. The initial deadline for submitting bids was April 15, it was subsequently extended to Thursday (April 20).
Though there was no official confirmation, Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress (VSEC) president Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao told Bizz Buzz that at the time of close of deadline, the company received 28 bids and no proposals were received from Singareni Collieries Company Ltd (SCCL), Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) or any other major company barring Jindal Group. He said overseas firms who submitted bids were exuding keen interest to partner with RINL by giving working capital support and to buy steel produced by the company.
Interestingly, the Telangana government initially showed interest not only to submit its bid, but also to save RINL from the privatisation. It even dispatched a high-level team from SCCL to explore the feasibility. But neither SCCL nor any other entity from the Telangana government submitted bid.
Earlier, on several occasions, the Ministry of Steel turned down appeals to merge RINL with SAIL or NMDC or both stating that the proposal is not acceptable. In January 2021, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) gave in-principle approval for the strategic disinvestment of RINL, its subsidiaries and joint ventures by way of 100 per cent privatisation, forcing the employees’ unions to form a Joint Action Committee under aegis of Visakha Ukku Parirakshana Porata Committee (VUPPC) to spearhead an agitation in a peaceful manner.
When contacted, committee co-chairmen D Adinarayana and J Ayodhyaram said separately that they are not in favour of JSW and JSPL bagging the EoI bid for working capital funding and raw material supply in exchange of finished steel.
Adinaryana said about six firms, which operate abroad, some of them in war-ravaged Ukraine have submitted bids. He said most of the companies who submitted bids in response to the EoI notification, are not having a good track-record.
Union Minister of State (MoS) for Steel Faggan Singh Kulaste during his recent visit to Visakhapatnam told the media that the privatisation process had been slowed down and they were trying to strengthen RINL to sort out the mining problem. A day later, the Ministry of Steel issued a statement saying the privatisation process was continuing and it had not been put on hold.
At the time of close of deadline on Thursday, RINL received 28 bids and no proposals were received from SCCL, SAIL, NMDC or any other big company barring Jindal Group
- Neerukonda Ramachandra Rao, president, Visakha Steel Employees’ Congress (VSEC), tells Bizz Buzz
