Explain the problems faced by iron and steel industries 0 geography
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1. Capital:
Iron and steel industry requires large capital investment which a developing country like India cannot afford. Many of the public sector integrated steel plants have been established with the help of foreign aid.
2. Low Productivity:
The per capita labour productivity in India is at 90-100 tonnes which is one of the lowest in the world. The labour productivity in Japan, Korea and some other major steel producing countries is about 600-700 tonnes per man per year.
3. Inefficiency of public sector units:
Most of the public sector units are plagued by inefficiency caused by heavy investment on social overheads, poor labour relations, inefficient management, underutilisation of capacity, etc. This hinders proper functioning of the steel plants and results in heavy losses.
4. Low potential utilisation:
The potential utilisation in iron and steel is very low. Rarely the potential utilisation exceeds 80 per cent. For example, Durgapur steel plant utilises only 50 per cent of its potential. This is caused by several factors, like strikes, lockouts, scarcity of raw materials, energy crisis, inefficient administration, etc.
5. Shortage of metallurgical coal:
Although India has huge deposits of high grade iron ore, her coal reserves, especially high grade cooking coal for smelting iron are limited. Many steel plants are forced to import metallurgical coal. For example, steel plant at Vishakhapatnam has to import coal from Australia. Serious thought is now being given to replace imported coal by natural gas from Krishna-Godavari basin.
6. Inferior quality of products:
Lack of modern technological and capital inputs and weak infrastructural facilities leads to a process of steel making which is more time consuming, expensive and yields inferior variety of goods. Such a situation forces us to import better quality steel from abroad. Thus there is urgent need to improve the situation and take the country out of desperate position.
Iron and steel industry requires large capital investment which a developing country like India cannot afford. Many of the public sector integrated steel plants have been established with the help of foreign aid.
2. Low Productivity:
The per capita labour productivity in India is at 90-100 tonnes which is one of the lowest in the world. The labour productivity in Japan, Korea and some other major steel producing countries is about 600-700 tonnes per man per year.
3. Inefficiency of public sector units:
Most of the public sector units are plagued by inefficiency caused by heavy investment on social overheads, poor labour relations, inefficient management, underutilisation of capacity, etc. This hinders proper functioning of the steel plants and results in heavy losses.
4. Low potential utilisation:
The potential utilisation in iron and steel is very low. Rarely the potential utilisation exceeds 80 per cent. For example, Durgapur steel plant utilises only 50 per cent of its potential. This is caused by several factors, like strikes, lockouts, scarcity of raw materials, energy crisis, inefficient administration, etc.
5. Shortage of metallurgical coal:
Although India has huge deposits of high grade iron ore, her coal reserves, especially high grade cooking coal for smelting iron are limited. Many steel plants are forced to import metallurgical coal. For example, steel plant at Vishakhapatnam has to import coal from Australia. Serious thought is now being given to replace imported coal by natural gas from Krishna-Godavari basin.
6. Inferior quality of products:
Lack of modern technological and capital inputs and weak infrastructural facilities leads to a process of steel making which is more time consuming, expensive and yields inferior variety of goods. Such a situation forces us to import better quality steel from abroad. Thus there is urgent need to improve the situation and take the country out of desperate position.
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