Union petroleum, natural gas and steel Minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, termed his visit to country’s oldest iron and steel industry, Tata Steel, as a great learning experience. “I am here to visit country’s oldest iron and steel industry as a student to understand the functioning of steel industry. In fact, the entire trip of the last three days (Bokaro steel unit on Sunday, iron mining areas in West Singhbhum and Bolani in Odisha on Monday and Tata Steel works on Tuesday) in Jharkhand was like a learning experience as I have assumed steel Ministry portfolio for the first time,” said the Minister who arrived from Kiriburu on helicopter at Sonari Airport this morning.

Talking to the newsmen, he said: “India is the second largest manufacturer of steel and eastern States (Odisha, Jharkhand and Bengal) hold immense potential as far as steel production is concerned. It has already been envisioned in National Steel Policy 2017. Maximum production will come from these States and since steel is an international commodity, I would also like to understand pricing mechanism, the ancillary sector and global factors which affect the industry which will help us in formulating policy in future,” added Pradhan speaking to scribes at the Sonari Airport.

The Minister, however, evaded queries from scribes on closure of small steel industries in the region recently.

Earlier, Tata Steel CEO and MD, T. V Narendran, along with Tata Steel vice-president (corporate services) Chanakya Chaudhary, welcomed the Minister at the Sonari Airport.

The Minister went straight to the Tata Steel archives at Centre For Excellence (CFE) to get a glimpse of the heritage and the rich legacy of Tata Steel for more than 100 years.

The Minister then went to the Steel Experience Centre–‘Innovex’ at the corporate centre for an overview of the layout of the steel plant and also experienced the digital journey, Tata Steel has embarked upon for process improvement.