Rajya Sabha MP GVL Narasimha Rao met Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia on Thursday and sought his Ministry’s intervention to end severe working capital problem being faced by Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL) to enable Plant’s full fledged operations.

In a letter submitted to the Minister, MP GVL noted that non-availability of working material, high raw material cost and adverse market conditions have affected functioning of the Steel Plant. This is adversely impacting the financials of RINL in the present year which made a net profit of Rs.913 crore last year.

In addition to non-availability working capital, huge annual interest burden of RINL at Rs.2500 crore due to high interest rates, lack of captive iron ore mines, high cost of purchased raw materials and vacant management level positions in RINL which is hampering decision making process were highlighted by the MP GVL Narasimha Rao in his letter.

Stating that a strong, vibrant, profitable RINL is a major contributor to the economy of Visakhapatnam region in particular and Andhra Pradesh state as a whole, GVL stated that efficient and successful operation of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant ought to be a national priority.

Expressing satisfaction over his meeting with the Steel Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia, MP GVL Narasimha Rao stated that the Minister assured him that the working capital problem would be resolved soon and the Ministry will make arrangements for raw material supply to the Vizag Steel Plant on an advance basis. This will be done to increase capacity utilisation of RINL, Steel Minister assured.