Bharat Aluminium Company
Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) is an Indian aluminium company. BALCO was incorporated in the year 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking (PSU) and it was the Public sector until 2001, when it was taken over by Vedanta Resources, a company listed on the London Stock Exchange. The Company has been closely associated with the Indian Aluminium Industry, in a pivotal role. Mr. Vikas Sharma is the current CEO & Whole Time Director of the company.[1]
Founded | 1965 |
---|---|
Headquarters | , India |
Key people | Mr. S K Roongta (Chairman)(Since November 2001) Mr. Abhijit Pati Mr. Deepak Prasad Rohit Soni Mr. Debrath Mishra Mr. Ashish Ranjan (PR Head) (Since November 2019) |
Products | Aluminium Electricity Rural Development |
Parent | Vedanta Resources |
Website | www |
History
It was incorporated in 1965 as a Public Sector Undertaking.[2] It is the first public sector enterprise in India which started producing aluminium in 1974. Till 2001, BALCO was a public sector enterprise owned 100% by Government of India. In 2001, Government of India divested 51% equity and management control in favour of Sterlite Industries India Limited. There's a little history behind the privatisation of the company that was not doing so well being a public sector company. There were groups formed among people or rather BALCO employees namely supporters of privatisation and the ones who opposed it. Rallies and processions were carried out in the evenings to oppose the privatisation and those who supported it were left in minority. Eventually, things happened as they were planned and the company was listed under Sterlite. There were allegation of scam involved in disinvestment of BALCO.[3]
Achievements
The development of special aluminium alloys for "Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile" – Agni and "Surface Missile" – Prithvi have been significant achievements of BALCO. BALCO has been the first in the Indian Aluminium Industry to produce the Alloy Rods, which is a Feedstock for all Aluminium Alloy Conductors, very much needed for today’s power transmission lines.[4]
Criticism
Safety concerns
A chimney under construction by Gannon Dunkerley & Company at the Balco smelter in Korba, Chhattisgarh collapsed on 23 September 2009 killing 49 workers.[5]
References
- "Bharat Aluminium Company Ltd. (BALCO) | Balco Team | Board of Directors". www.balcoindia.com. Retrieved 23 November 2018.
- "History". Balco. Archived from the original on 26 April 2006. Retrieved 20 August 2006.
- "Battle over Balco". www.frontline.in. Retrieved 5 October 2017.
- "Profile". Balco. Retrieved 4 September 2018.
- "Balco Chimney Crash Deaths".