New Delhi, April 11, 2018: MSTC and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) recently announced their joint association on “Development of Rural Sector for enhanced steel usage in infrastructure & housing and increasing Agri-Horticultural income in North-East”. The announcement was aimed to make the audience aware of the strategic collaboration between two of the most powerful public sector enterprises under Ministry of Steel, Government of India. Recently, Hon’ble Minister of Steel, Chaudhary Birender Singh along with Smt. Aruna Sharma (Secretary, Ministry Of Steel, Government of India), Shri H Rohluna, (Minister, Government of Mizoram), BB Singh (CMD, MSTC Ltd.), Shri Ponnapalli Madhusudan (CMD, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.), Smt. Soma Mandal (Director Commercial, SAIL), and Smt. Ruchika Chaudhary Govil (Jt. Secretary, MoS) visited Aizawl to conduct a workshop for development in North-East, and connecting the region with Capital.

MSTC has also carved out a niche by developing a user-friendly portal namely, “M3” MSTC Metal Mandi a virtual market-place utilizing internet technology for hassle-free and cashless transactions in the metal sector. The M3 is an ideal portal for small and medium scale manufacturers and traders of ferrous and non-ferrous sector, which is facilitating steel manufacturers and consumers to transact their sales and purchases in an efficient and transparent manner. It also provides a dedicated platform for RINL and SAIL with an “enquiry based order generating system” for various semi-finished/finished products.

Speaking on the project, Chaudhary Birender Singh said, that connectivity factors have to be taken care for speedy development in the Northeast region and it is important to make a roadmap for development. Emphasizing the importance of steel for development in North-East States, Minister said, “The use of steel gets prominence and good connectivity should be the primary consideration for the states like Mizoram and other NE States. The Minister said that Mizoram is in a part of a country where every crop is organic and agriculture is free from the intervention of middlemen. Consequently, the income of farmers is increasing exponentially.”

While briefing about the announcement, Mr. B. B. Singh (CMD, MSTC Ltd.), said, “MSTC has deployed dedicated officials who are regularly visiting tier-3 & Tier-4 cities of North-Eastern States for generating enquiries for steel products such as TMT Bars, Channels, Angles and other long products. As a result of these initiatives, enquiries generated for few thousand MTs have been forwarded to RINL, some of which have already fructified into business transactions.”

MSTC and RINL have formed the association to boost the rural demand for steel in the far-flung areas of North-Eastern States. Civil Contractors, Real Estate Developers, Builders, Infrastructural Engineers, Institute for Steel Development & Growth (INSDAG) and Steel pre-fab manufacturers are being taken on board to cater to the State PWD, Irrigation and Rural Development departments, etc.

MSTC is engaged in diverse business activities including e-commerce and Trading & has emerged as a major player for promoting e-commerce in the country. Striding along this direction MSTC has recently opened an office at Guwahati to offer its services to the entire North-East region.

Earlier, MSTC and CRWC (Central Railside Warehouse Company Ltd.) have tied up together and developed the e-RAKAM portal (e-Rashtriya Kisan Agri Mandi), a first of its kind initiative that connects farmers of Agri & Horti produce from small villages with the world markets through internet. The portal provides facilities for Sale, Purchase, Price Discovery, Fixed Price Sale, etc with Integrated Logistics Services (last mile connectivity and door delivery) thereby minimising the role of agents/middlemen so that the benefits are directly reaped by the farmers.

As the North-Eastern States have not adopted e-NAM, MSTC is geared up to fill this gap for Agri-Horti produce of the seven sisters. In this regard, MSTC’s officials have also met the Chief Ministers and other officials of Assam, Meghalaya and Manipur and officials of other North-Eastern States.