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CASE STUDY : JAMSHEDPUR—AN IRON a part of the geography and landscape of India
AND STEEL CENTRE as much a part of her as her great mountain
The first step for setting up the steel company ranges and river.”
had been taken in 1882 by Jamshedji Tata at the Raw Materials : High quality hematite variety
age of 43 years. Three years later, Indian of iron are are obtained from Singhbhum district
National Congress had been founded. With the of Jharkhand, Gurumahisani mines of
nationalist devour set into motion, Jamshedji Mayurbhanj district in Orissa.
took the nationalist step to raise funds for the Coal from Jharia and Raniganj. Manganese from
company from the Indian market. To his surprise Noamundi. Limestone and Dolomite from
within three weeks, 8000 investors subscribed to Sundargarh, Palamau, Hazaribagh and Ranchi
the Tata offer. An amount of Rs. 2.32 crore for a areas.
steel plant of 1,00,000 tonnes including the coast Transport : Jamshedpur lies on Kolkata-Nagpur
of setting up the township had been raised. On railway route and is well-connected by rail, road
16th February, 1912, the first steel ingot rolled and airways.
Water : Water for cooling, washing purposes is
obtained from Subarnarekha river and a storage
dam has also been built across Kharkai river.
Port Facilities : Tata Engineering and
Locomotive Company (TELCO), Tata Metals
and Strips Ltd., Indian Steel Rolling Mills Ltd.,
Tata Timken Ltd., Tata Korf, Metals and dozen
other industries producing chemicals, wires,
cables, locomotive parts, agricultural implements
are all located in Jameshedpur or in the vicinity.
This ensures local supplies and demand for
out on the lines of the Sakchi plant. During world various products.
war I (1915-1919), Tatas exported 1500 miles of CASE STUDY: DETROIT—FROM IRON
steel rails to Mesopotamia, then followed many AND STEEL TO AUTOMOBILE
ups and downs and again the second world war From Steel City to Motor City : Historically,
provided much needed fillip to the company. entrepreneurs have not only provided the initia-
Today, Tatas hold only about 8 percent in the tive and enterprise, but provided input for
Tata Steel, fifty per cent is held by public finance transformation, development of land also
institutions and the rest by 2,65,000 sharehold- encouraged new initiatives when certain condi-
ers. All this reflects the Tata philosophy of ‘na- tions favourable in the initial stage have disap-
tionalism’ translated into action in many other peared. This initiative, as we have seen above
business ventures. was provided by Jamshedji. Tata in the case of
Conditions that favoured setting up of and Jamshedpur and by Andrew Carnegie set up
success of the Jamshed pur plant : Carnegie Steel Company in 1872 after amalgam-
Management : The greatest asset of the com- ating several of his small business enterprises,
little did he know that though his company was
pany was and has been the Tata management. In
its own words, “Tata Iron and Steel Company is small, he had created a ‘gold mine’. Three
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