During the first two quarters of 2015-16, SAIL incurred a total loss of Rs.1378 crore. The major reasons for losses are reduction in the Net Sales Realisation of saleable steel, increased expenditure towards royalty on iron ore, volatility in foreign exchange rates and higher incidence of capital related expenses; i.e. interest and depreciation, etc.

The Ministry of Steel has decided to appoint an external consultant to study the overall working of SAIL with a view to improve its performance.

SAIL is implementing a major modernisation and expansion programme to increase its production, to eliminate technological obsolescence, to improve energy efficiency and to increase value added products in its product basket.

In addition, in order to restore financial health of the company, it has formulated a Turnaround Plan on immediate basis which broadly includes optimizing production and sales volume, product-mix enrichment and increasing production from new facilities, operational efficiency improvement and cost reduction, rationalizing production from relatively inefficient routes, marketing initiatives for improved realization, expenditure control and capital expenditure prioritization. This information was given by Minister of State Sh. Vishnu Deo Sai in reply to a question in Lok Sabha on Monday.