State-run Steel Authority of India (SAIL) plans to focus on research and development and technological upgradation in the areas of raw materials and product development in order to increase its efficiency.
As part of this plan, the leading steel maker in the country decided to raise its R&D spending to 1 per cent of gross sales every year from the current level of around 0.3 per cent.
The company is implementing an R&D Master Plan, which identified certain high-impact projects and breakthrough technologies.
In 2012-2013, the firm undertook 82 projects (of which 54 projects have been complete) mainly for plant performance improvement, product development, basic research.
These projects enabled the firm to save Rs 600 crore in costs, reports indicate. In September 2011, the board of the company approved the Master Plan for acquisition and development of appropriate technologies.
The plan specifically targets production of cold rolled grain oriented (CRGO) electrical steels, development of alternative iron making technologies, endless strip production, carbon dioxide reduction and sequestration, and optimising land use by designing compact steel plants.
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