Bhilai Steel Plant breaches million tonne barrier in production of UTS 90 rails

In a marked improvement, Chhattisgarh's Bhilai Steel Plant (BSP) has clocked its highest ever production of UTS 90 rail in FY 2019-20 by breaking the million-tonne barrier.

BSP produced 10.46 lakh tonnes of UTS 90 rail till February in the ongoing year, as compared to 9.85 lakh tonnes production in 2018-19, according to Director (Projects) SAIL and CEO, BSP, Anirban Dasgupta.

Dasgupta, however, added that the plant has set a target of 13.5 lakh tonnes production from the Universal Rail Mill (URM) by the end of this fiscal year.

The state of the art URM produces the world's longest rail of 260 metres with a single weld as per the requirements of the Indian Railways and can also produce rails up to 520-metre length in future.

Among the most notable products from the Bhilai plant, however, will be the rolled maraging steel 'MDN 250' which BSP provides exclusively to the Indian Space Research Association (ISRO).

The MDN-250 grade steel although produced by the Mishra Dhatu Nigam Limited (MIDHANI) is rolled as per the requirements of the space agency at BSP's Plate Mill.

The first lot of 40 tonnes of MDN-250, used in the outer motor casing of satellite launch vehicles (SLV) for India's first manned space mission programme, Gaganyaan was flagged off by Dasgupta on February 6.

Apart from the more commercial ventures, BSP has also been supplying specially toughened warship grade steel plates, DMR 249 A grade, which have been used in the construction of India's first indigenously built aircraft carrier INS Vikrant, and in antisubmarine warfare Corvette like INS Kamorta and INS Kiltan.

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