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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Cong takes swipe at PM over India not being part of US-led 'Pax Silica' grouping
New Delh (PTI) The Congress on Saturday said it is perhaps not very surprising that India is not part of a US-led strategic initiative to build a secure silicon supply chain, given the "sharp downturn" in the Trump-Modi ties, and asserted that it would have been to "our advantage if we had been part of this group".
Congress general secretary in charge of communications Jairam Ramesh took a swipe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, saying the news of India not being part of the group comes after the PM had enthusiastically posted on social media about a telephone call with his "once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC".
In a lengthy post on X, Ramesh said, "According to some news reports, the US has excluded India from a nine-nation initiative it has launched to reduce Chinese control on high-tech supply chains. The agreement is called Pax Silica, clearly as a counter to Pax Sinica. The nations included (for the moment at least) are the US, Japan, the Republic of Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia."
"Given the sharp downturn in the Trump-Modi ties since May 10th, 2025, it is perhaps not very surprising that India has not been included. Undoubtedly, it would have been to our advantage if we had been part of this group."
"This news comes a day after the PM had enthusiastically posted on his telephone call with his once-upon-a-time good friend and a recipient of many hugs in Ahmedabad, Houston, and Washington DC," the Congress leader asserted.
The new US-led strategic initiative, rooted in deep cooperation with trusted allies, has been launched to build a secure and innovation-driven silicon supply chain.
According to the US State Department, the initiative called 'Pax Silica' aims to reduce coercive dependencies, protect the materials and capabilities foundational to artificial intelligence (AI), and ensure aligned nations can develop and deploy transformative technologies at scale.
The initiative includes Japan, South Korea, Singapore, the Netherlands, the United Kingdom, Israel, the United Arab Emirates, and Australia. With the exception of India, all other QUAD countries -- Japan, Australia and the US -- are part of the new initiative.
New Delhi will host the India-AI Impact Summit 2026 on February 19-20, focusing on the principles of 'People, Planet, and Progress'. The summit, announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the France AI Action Summit, will be the first-ever global AI summit hosted in the Global South.
Prime Minister Modi and US President Trump on Thursday discussed ways to sustain momentum in the bilateral economic partnership in a phone conversation amid signs of the two sides inching closer to firming up a much-awaited trade deal.
The phone call between the two leaders came on a day Indian and American negotiators concluded two-day talks on the proposed bilateral trade agreement that is expected to provide relief to India from the Trump administration's whopping 50 per cent tariffs on Indian goods.
In a social media post, Modi had described the conversation as "warm and engaging".
"We reviewed the progress in our bilateral relations and discussed regional and international developments. India and the US will continue to work together for global peace, stability and prosperity," Modi had said without making any reference to trade ties.
