JSW Steel

JSW Steel, the flagship company of JSW Group and one of India's largest steel producers, is in for tough times after a Lokayukta report on illegal mining in Karnataka indicted the firm and its suppliers for causing a loss of around Rs 325 crore to the  exchequer between April 2009 and July 2010.The firm, which sources more than 70 percent of its iron ore from Karnataka, suffered a major blow on the bourses after the Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban on mining in the state's Bellary district. Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Group has already lost over Rs 4,300 crore in just three trading sessions due to the mining scandal. Over the last week the company stock has fallen over 20 percent.[caption id="attachment_54192" align="alignleft" width="380" caption="The firm, which sources more than 70 percent of its iron ore from Karnataka, has suffered a major blow on the bourses after the Supreme Court imposed a blanket ban on mining in the Bellary district. Reuters"][/caption]Amid the illegal mining scandal, foreign fund house Morgan Stanley sold  12 lakh shares of JSW Steel for about Rs 84 crore on the bourses through open market.However, the firm has denied all allegations by the Lokayukta  regarding the transportation and procurement of iron ore in Karnataka and transactions linking the company and a group firm. It also stated that all transactions are  legal and the company is prepared for interrogation.While the company is busy defending itself in the south, fresh trouble is brewing in the east  as well.

According to a report in the Business Standard, "West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has pulled up Sajjan Jindal at a public forum to convey her disapproval over the delay in the 10 million tonne project at Salboni in West Medinipur."

The Jindals have now been asked to make a presentation before the government regarding the progress made on the Rs 35,000 crore Salboni project in West Bengal on 5 August as it could not allow the land to remain unutilised for long.The ambitious 10 million tonne per annum capacity mega steel project is scheduled to be built on over nearly 5,000 acres. The company has acquired 4,314 acres and 138 acres has been handed over for the purpose of social forestry. At the initial stage,  JSW Steel was to begin with production of three million tonne per annum. The project included mineral ore linkage and a power plant.This is not the first time the steel conglomerate has been under the scanner. In March, tax sleuths raided its offices in Mumbai and Ratnagiri for alleged invasion of income tax.On 21 December 2010 JSW Steel declared that it will buy a controlling stake in loss-making Ispat Industries for Rs 2,157 crore to emerge as India's largest producer of the commodity, with an annual capacity of 14.3 million tonnes.Incorporated in 1994, JSW Energy is into generation, transmission, distribution and trading of power. The company provides power solutions to Karnataka, Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh.Highlights• The JSW Group is the largest investor in Karnataka with an investment of over Rs 40,000 crore in steel, power and industrial gas sectors.• JSW Steel’s plant is spread over 3,700 acres.• JSW Steel is ranked No. 7 among the 35 world class steel makers despite the fact that it does not  have captive mines.• JSW’s history can be traced back to 1982, when the Jindal Group acquired Piramal Steel Limited, which operated a mini steel mill at Tarapur in Maharashtra and renamed it as Jindal Iron and Steel Company (Jisco).