Jamshedpur : T V Narendran, managing director, Tata Steel India and South East Asia on Friday said there is a need to ensure better utilisation of mineral resources in the country and also termed that it was �unfortunate� that iron ore are being imported in a country which is blessed with rich mineral reserves. “We have abundance of the mineral in the country but still are importing the ores,” Narendran said.
Narendran was talking to the media after he unfurled the tricolour on the occasion of the 68th Independence Day inside Tata Steel works.
He said that the company is committed to nation building, and this company is a demonstration of that commitment. This company was set up this part of the country not only because there was the presence of raw materials but also because the founders of Tata felt the need for growth and development of this region.
Narendran said we could generate employment and play a role in the development of the country if the minerals were utilised properly. Narendran said steel plants were being established in the periphery of iron-ore mines because of advantages like access to raw material and lower transportation costs.
Referring to the increasing demand for iron ore, Narendran said a couple of decades ago, the cost of iron ore per tonnes stood at around $20. A decade later, the value of the mineral may not be worth as it is today, he added.
The Tata Steel MD said that Tata Steel is a living example of how an industrial enterprise can work in a developing country like India. �We must live by the values that the house of Tata is known for. Honesty, transparency, truthfulness, discipline, probity in public life, empowerment of communities, and giving back to society many times over. We must create value for communities by informing and educating them in a manner that will facilitate their empowerment in the long term�.
He also urged everyone to contribute in his or her own ways to society so that we could make this country better for the next generation and ourselves.