Joint Plant Committee
# Joint Plant Committee

Constituted in 1964 by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India for formulating guidelines for production, allocation, pricing and distribution of iron and steel materials, Joint Plant Committee (JPC) underwent a major transformation in 1992, when following the de-regulation of Indian steel industry, it moulded itself into a facilitator for industry, focusing on giving form to a comprehensive and non-partisan databank – the first of its kind in the country – on the Indian iron and steel industry. Today, it is the only institution in the country, officially empowered by the Ministry of Steel, Government of India to collect and report data on the Indian iron and steel industry. Accredited with ISO 9001: 2008 certification, JPC is headquartered at Kolkata with regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai and an extension centre in Bhubaneswar, engaged in data collection. The Economic Research Unit (ERU) at New Delhi serves as a wing of JPC to carry out techno-economic studies and policy analysis.

## Evolution of JPC

* 1964 – Constituted

JPC was constituted this year, following the recommendations of Dr. K.N Raj Committee under Clause 17B of the Iron & Steel Control Order, 1956 of the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 with the objective of planning, programming and determination of regulatory production guidelines on iron and steel, including pricing and distribution.

* 1971 – Greater Empowerment

Vide Notification S.O. 1567/ECS.COMM/IRON &STEEL dated 7 April 1971, the Government specified in detail the composition of the Committee as well as its various functions, thereby empowering JPC with precise directions to undertake its activities.

* 1992 – De-regulation of Steel Industry

Vide Notification No. SC/1/6/91/D.III dated 16 January 1992 and following the economic order of the day, Indian steel industry was de-controlled, a milestone development that led to far-reaching changes in operational practices and overall spread of industry. In this changed scenario, JPC moulded itself to be a facilitator for the Indian steel industry, focusing on the maintenance of a comprehensive, non-partisan data base on the industry – a first-time attempt to statistically enumerate industry growth.

* 2003 – Closure of Office of Development Commissioner of Iron &Steel (DCI&S)

In May 2003, the Office of DCI&S, engaged primarily in data collection work for the small and medium scale sector, was closed down. This led to the entrustment of the responsibility of collection and reporting of data on all segments in the small and medium scale sectors to JPC (which was focusing on main producer till then) vide MoS Notification No. 13(13)30/2001-DI.

* 2007 – Deletion of Steel From EC Act, 1955

Vide notification No 26(1)/2004-ECR&E (Vol. III) dated 12 February 2007, Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution (Department of Consumer Affairs) announced the deletion of steel from the Essential Commodities Act and Such deletion wavered the very policy foundation of the organisation.

* 2008 – Notification of Ministry of Steel

Notification No. 4(5)/03-DI. dated 18 August 2008 issued by the Ministry of Steel pronounced the need for continuance of JPC in its present form, in context of its critical database :

* JPC Today

Backed by over 4 decades of specialised experience in data management, today JPC is the only organisation in the country, officially authorised by Ministry of Steel, Government of India to collect and report on data on the Indian iron and steel industry. The JPC Database has emerged as the most trusted, comprehensive and non-partisan source of data and information on the Indian steel industry. JPC is also an ISO 9001:2008 organisation indicating the quality of service rendered. Headquarter of JPC is in Kolkata with regional offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai, engaged in data collection and industry liaison. In 2014, JPC opened its extension centre in Bhubaneswar, Odisha, in a bid to consolidate and further sharpen the accuracy of its data and data collection system at the regional level. Two more Extension Offices are to be opened, one in Raipur and the other in Bangalore as approved in the 225th meeting of the JPC Apex Committee held on 11 March 2014. The Economic Research Unit (ERU) at New Delhi serves as a wing of JPC, mainly responsible for analysis of data collected by the JPC and for conducting specific studies/analysis entrusted to it by the Ministry of Steel.The ERU is headed by Chief Economist.

## Structure and Composition of JPC

JPC is headed by Joint Secretary to Government of India, Ministry of Steel as its chairman and has representatives from SAIL, RINL, Tata Steel and Railway Board as its esteemed Members.

* Chairman: Jt.Secretary, Ministry of Steel
* Members: 7 Members in total(4 from SAIL, 1 each from Railway Board, Tata Steel and RINL)
* Executive Secretary is the administrative in-charge of the Organization.

## JPC Database and its Management

* JPC used its own classification system for statistical use only.

| Category | Includes |
| - | - |
| Integrated Steel Producer(ISP) | SAIL plants, Vizag Steel/ RINL, Tata Steel Ltd, Essar Steel, JSW Steel, Jindal Steel & Power Ltd. |
| Other Producers | Other EAFs, All IFs, All Processors |

* JPC Database coverage

| Data Item | Coverage |
| - | - |
| Capacity, Production, Stocks & Inter Plant Transfer(IPT) | ISP, Others Crude Steel, Finished Steel, Pig iron & Sponge Iron |
| Imports and Exports | Finished Steel, Pig iron, Sponge Iron & Scrap |
| Prices | Open market, Producer prices, international and landed cost(selected items) |
| Consumption | Iron and Steel; Derived Data |
| Despatch | Iron and Steel; State wise |
| Raw Material | Iron ore, Pellet, Sinter, coal/coke, ferro-alloy, refractory, dolomite etc. |
| Accident in steel plants | Leading producers(ISPs) |

* DATA Collection

| Data | Source of Data |
| - | - |
| Capacity, Production, Stocks & Inter Plant Transfer(IPT | submission of production returns by units, on monthly basis, covering: North : 1004 units East : 885 units South : 649 units West : 1030 units |
| Imports, Exports | Daily download from FTP Server of Customs |
| Open market prices | Prices of 34 items – 1st and 15th of month |
| Producer prices | Monthly, from ISP plants |
| International prices | Monthly, compiled from Steel First |

* Data Management Issues

| Issue | Resolution |
| - | - |
| Validation | Production vis-a-vis Capacity/average production Minor discrepancy confirmed over phone / mail Nil returns confirmed for closure Input – output reconciliation |
| Non-Reporting | Either partial (estimation on basis of average production) or total (estimation on basis of state-wise capacity utilization) |
| Under-Reporting | mostly by small/medium units Estimation on basis of higher capacity utilization Neutralises any under reporting to a great extent |
| Double Counting | Doubly counted production of CR, GP/GC & pipes deducted from total production of steel |

## JPC Publications

| JPC Report | Highlights | Frequency |
| - | - | - |
| JPC Bulletin on Iron and Steel | Monthly trend scenario of domestic market in a global context. Published in both English and Hindi. | Monthly |
| Performance Review | Year-end performance review | Annual |
| Annual Statistics | Statistical compilation of 5-Yearly Performance | Annual |
| Survey Reports | Findings of segment surveys made by JPC | On completion of field survey |
| JPC Report | Publication Date |
| Flash Report | 5th of every month |
| Indicative Market Price | 5th/20th of every month |
| Import/Export statistics | 10th of reference month |
| MIS Report | 20th of every month |
| Performance Report | 30th of every month |
| World Steel Association Report | 22nd of every month |
