CM Yediyurappa asks Centre to drop Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Ltd disinvestment plan
New Delhi, Jan 30: Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Thursday called on Union Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan and requested him to drop the disinvestment proposal of Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Ltd (VISL), which has attracted no bidders till now.
Bhadravathi-based VISL, which was set up in 1918, was merged into SAIL in 1998.
In the meeting, the chief minister informed that "there is still resistance for disinvestment of VISL" and requested the Union Minister to take necessary action to drop the disinvestment proposal of the steel plant.
He highlighted that VISL is a very good brand in the alloy steel industry. People of Bhadravathi and Shivamoga are attached to the plant, he said while urging the union minister to revive the unit by infusing required capital.
The chief minister further informed that VISL is presently a "loss-making" unit because no capital investment either by the central government or SAIL.
SAIL has infused only Rs 157 crore in VISL so far for repair and renewal of the plant, he said.
SAIL, which has initiated disinvestment of VISL as per the recommendation of the government think-tank Niti Aayog, has not received any bids from private firms till now, he added in a representation made to the Steel Minister.
The steel PSU had called expression of interest from private firms in July 2019.
VISL is the only steel producer of more than 730 special grade steel in the country and has potential to contribute to achieving the aim of National Steel Policy 2017.
The company has captive mines of nearly 497 acres, abundant water resources from Bhadra river, power generating plant, adequate land and labour.
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Cummins doubtful for T20 World Cup? It's quite grey right now, says Aus head coach
Melbourne (PTI): Australia skipper Pat Cummins' chances of playing at next year's T20 World Cup in India and Sri Lanka are "quite grey at the moment" as he battles a back stress issue that has affected his participation in the ongoing Ashes series against England.
Cummins returned to play the third Ashes Test in Adelaide after missing the opening two matches, picking up six wickets to help Australia clinch the series 3-0.
However, the Australian Test and ODI skipper will take no further part in the series and even his participation at the T20 World Cup is also uncertain. All-rounder Mitchell Marsh is Australia's T20I captain.
"Looking forward to the World Cup, whether he will be there or not, I can't really say. It's quite grey at the moment. We're hopeful," head coach Andrew McDonald was quoted as saying by 'ESPNCricinfo'.
The fast bowler was diagnosed with a lumbar stress reaction during Australia's tour of the West Indies in July. He underwent rehabilitation before being cleared for a carefully managed return in Adelaide.
"He's pulled up fine. He won't play any part in the rest of the series and that was a discussion that we had a long time out around his return," McDonald said.
"We were taking on some risk and people that reported on that would understand the risk associated with that rebuild. We've now won the series and that was the goal.
"So, to position him for further risk and jeopardise him long-term is not something that we want to do and Pat's really comfortable with that," he added.
The T20 World Cup is scheduled to begin on February 7 across India and Sri Lanka with the summit clash set for March 8.
Australia's first match is on February 11 against Ireland at Colombo. Although Cummins captains the Test and ODI teams, all-rounder Mitch Marsh leads Australia in the shortest format.
