By Akshaya Kumar Sahoo

Copyright deccanchronicle

Bhubaneswar: Odisha Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi has honoured Tata Steel as one of the ‘star employers’ in the state, during the foundation laying ceremony of 27 new industrial projects in Bhubaneswar. Yaswant Kumar Pandey, chief human resource business partner – Steel, Tata Steel Kalinganagar and Rabindra Kumar Jamuda, President, Tata Steel Kalinganagar Workers’ union received the token of appreciation on the occasion on Monday, an official communication said on Wednesday. Odisha has been Tata Steel’s largest global investment destination; the company has already invested over Rs 1 lakh crore in the state and provided direct employment opportunities to 16,833 persons, over 55 per cent of whom are from Odisha. Tata Steel operates three major integrated steel plants in the state – Tata Steel Kalinganagar and Neelachal Ispat Nigam Limited in Jajpur and Tata Steel Meramandali in Dhenkanal. Tata Steel also has long established mining operations and ferro alloys plants across Odisha. Last year, the Company successfully commissioned India’s largest blast furnace at Tata Steel Kalinganagar, with a total investment of Rs 27,000 crore in its Phase II expansion. It has augmented the total capacity at the site from 3 million tonnes per annum (MTPA) to 8 MTPA.