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UPSC Prelims 2007 · Indian Geography · Industries, Ports and Transport
With reference to the steel industry in India in the recent times, consider the following statements: Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
- Vizag Steel Plant (RINL) has been declared Mini Ratna.
- Merger of IISCO with SAIL has been completed.
- (a) 1 only
- (b) 2 only
- (c) Both 1 and 2
- (d) Neither 1 nor 2
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) 2 only
Only the IISCO–SAIL merger was complete.
Statement by statement
1. ✗ WRONG at the time RINL (Vizag Steel) got Mini Ratna status only in late 2008 and Navratna in 2010 — after this question.
2. ✓ CORRECT IISCO (Burnpur) was merged into SAIL in 2006.
The idea
A company’s award status and its corporate ownership are separate facts. Both can change, so a statement must be tested at the exam date. A merger completed before the exam is different from a status granted later; present-day labels cannot be read back into a 2007 question.
Why the others are wrong
(a) RINL was not yet a Mini Ratna in 2007.
(c) RINL’s status came later.
(d) The merger was complete.
The trap
Statuses change — read the question year.
Also know
SAIL’s integrated plants include Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur and IISCO at Burnpur. RINL is associated with the Visakhapatnam steel plant and is a different company. Miniratna, Navratna and Maharatna are government enterprise categories linked with eligibility and decision-making powers, not types of steel.
🔒 SAIL plants: Bhilai, Bokaro, Rourkela, Durgapur, IISCO Burnpur. RINL: India’s first shore-based integrated steel plant (Visakhapatnam).
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