RINL: Steel Ministry Advertises CMD Post via SCSC Route, Industry Left Confused
Vacancy notification comes amid mixed signals on Vizag Steel Plant’s future
It appears to be a case of one step forward and three steps backward.....
For months now, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) — better known as Vizag Steel Plant — has been caught in a policy limbo, with conflicting signals from the government raising serious questions over its future.
In the latest development, the Ministry of Steel has issued a vacancy notification for the post of Chairman and Managing Director (CMD) through the Search-cum-Selection Committee (SCSC) route. The move, announced just yesterday, has left industry observers baffled, given the continued uncertainty surrounding RINL’s survival strategy.
Earlier, in responses to RTI applications and parliamentary questions, the Ministry of Steel had clearly stated that no revival plan was in place for RINL and that the government remained committed to its strategic disinvestment.
However, soon after assuming charge, Union Steel Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy visited Visakhapatnam and publicly ruled out privatisation of the PSU. This was followed by the announcement of a special revival package for RINL.
Despite these assurances, the ground reality tells a different story.
The company continues to face an acute cash crunch, struggling to meet routine financial obligations — from servicing bank interest to paying employee salaries. Funding support remains elusive, even as operational challenges mount.
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Industry leaders point out a structural disadvantage: RINL operates without captive iron ore mines, severely impacting its cost competitiveness. Meanwhile, trade unions have long demanded either a merger with Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) or a mega consolidation of all steel PSUs to ensure a level playing field for Vizag Steel.
So far, neither option has materialised.
Against this backdrop, the decision to initiate CMD recruitment through the SCSC mechanism has only deepened uncertainty, raising a fundamental question: Is RINL being prepared for revival — or merely kept afloat while strategic disinvestment remains the endgame?
