In continuance with Tata Steel's corporate social responsibility and realising the importance of shelter needs, the construction solutions group (CSG) of Tata Steel has embarked on a project to offer aesthetic, durable, low maintenance and quick construction steel intensive buildings.

Tata Steel organised an NGO meet today at Bhubaneswar with the aim to familiarise the NGOs to the steel intensive solutions that are presently available with CSG.

Over 40 NGOs from various parts of Orissa attended this event and shared their experiences and views. The meeting began with a welcome speech delivered by Mr S. K. Pattnaik, chief resident representative, Tata Steel, followed by a keynote address by Mr R. S. Vishwanathan, Head (business development), CSG, Dr Akshay Khandelwal, MD, Jhalani Agro Industries Pvt. Ltd, one of the supply chain partners of CSG highlighted on their fabrication capabilities of silos and bins.

Tata Steel has developed tubular frame designs of steel intensive low cost rural housing. This tubular frame technology from Tata Steel has the following features:

• Modular structure and so construction time is minimal

• The quality of construction is largely consistent nullifying chances of the human error

• A light weight structure

• Strong and durable and can resist wind and seismic forces

• Cleaner work site - less waste

• Straight and uniform walls

• Sustainable and eco-friendly

• Flexible and so, can be adapted to urban housing also with minor design changes

To develop additional demand for steel in the rural sector, Tata Steel also has developed with the help of IGMRI, steel grain storage silos and bins for scientific storage of food grains with negligible losses in storage. About 8-10 per cent of the grains stored in the traditional system get lost due to moisture, rodents, microbes, pests and other natural factors. The CSG, Tata Steel is also interacting with the save grain campaign to propagate the concept of safer and more durable solutions in steel.

Tata Steel thanked the NGOs for their active participation and appreciated the NGOs' effort in playing a proactive role of a facilitator in development and accelerating the application of new steel intensive technologies for rural population which will go a long way in enhancing Tata Steel's corporate social responsibility initiatives.