TATA Steel’s new Managing Director Mr TV Narendran said that his major focus would be to increase the production capacity of the private steel major even though he has several internal and external challenges to face, including the economic slowdown.

 

The company has given him a big responsibility as Managing Director and he expressed hope that along with his team, he would strive to take the company forward, Narendran told reporterse.

 

Mr Narendran and Koushik Chatterjee group executive director (finance and corporate) took over their respective charges.

 

Mr Chatterjee said that the immediate focus of TATA Steel was to ensure execution of six million tonne Greenfield steel plant in Odisha's Kalinganagar.

 

He said that the company will be spending INR 35,000 crore for the Odisha project and has already spent INR 10,000 crore so far, he said, adding the first phase of three million tonnes was expected to be commissioned by the end of 2015 fiscal.

 

Asked about raw material availability for the project, Mr Chatterjee said the company would continue with available resources, but would require new linkages in the long run. He said that "We have signed MOUs for projects in Karnataka, Jharkhand and Chattisgarh, but our immediate focus was on the Kalinganagar project following completion of the expansion of Jamshedpur plant to ten million tonne capacity.”

 

In fact, the company has made more addition in capacity during the last 7 to 8 years as compared to the past 100 years, he said, claiming the company had invested INR 16,000 crore for expansion of the Jamshedpur plant when the economy was in a bad shape in 2009.

 

Mr Chatterjee said, the external market situation in the past two years has deteriorated in the country and GDP growth rate downgraded, but the Centre has taken some steps during the last one year.

 

The effect of these steps would be visible in a year or two, he said, adding TATA Steel had overcome a similar situation in the past because of its strong relationship with customers, distributors and suppliers and would do so even now with increasing capacity and new products.