The 49ers Essays - National Football League, American Football

The 49ers Super Bowl 32, 2 seconds left on the clock. The 49ers have the ball on the 39 yard line. J.J. Stokes, Terrell Owens, and Jerry Rice lined up on the right. Garrison Hearst in the backfield. The 49ers have a score of 21 and the Broncos 26. The ball is hiked. Steve Young drops back and looks down field. Young is under pressure and throws deep to Jerry Rice. Rice dives for the ball and barley makes a one handed catch. The 49ers win Super Bowl 32 by a score of 49ers 27 Broncos 26. As you can see the 49ers have great quarterbacks, receivers, and they also have great running backs which means that they are the best team in the NFL ever to play the game. The 49ers know how to pick great players such as Jerry Rice, Steve Young, Garrison Hearst, Joe Montana, and J.J. Stokes. Another reason they are the best team in the NFL is they have won a record number of 5 Super Bowls. To begin with, the 49ers have won 5 Super Bowls, the only other team to do that was the Dallas Cowboys. The 49ers have only been to 5 Super Bowls so that means that they won all of them they went to. The 49ers also choose good coaches such as Bill Walse, and Steve Mariucci. Bill Walse Has led the 49ers to many Super Bowls and Steve Mariucci led them to the N.F.C. championship the first year he got the job and will hopefully go to the Super Bowl this year. The 49ers also have really good players. The 49ers have some of the best players in the NFL such as Steve young, J.J. Stokes, and Terrell Owens. Steve Young, who is the present quarterback, leads the NFL with 2,435 passing yards and 21 touchdowns. He has a completion rate of 61.2 which is second in the NFL J.J. Stokes is the 49er wide receiver that is really good and learning a lot from the coaches and his team. Terrell Owens is also a wide receiver that is learning. And lets not forget about Jerry Rice. Jerry Rice is the greatest wide receiver ever to play football in the NFL. Jerry Rice is a 13 year veteran and hold 13 NFL records including 154 receiving touchdowns and 61 consecutive games with 100+ receiving yards. He also has had 11-1000 yard seasons. He has the most receiving yards in one season, with 1,848. He also has 10 Super Bowl records including most receiving yard with 512,most career points with 42, and most touchdowns in a Super Bowl with 3, which breaks another record of most points in a Super Bowl with 18. In Conclusion, the best team in the NFL is the 49ers because they have won 5 Super Bowls, really good players such as Steve Young, J.J. Stokes, Terrell Owens, Garrison Hearst, really good coaches, and the greatest wide receiver ever to play in the NFL Jerry Rice. As you can see the Broncos are not the best team in the NFL but in fact the 49ers are much better then them. .

Writing a Personal Development Essay

Writing a Personal Development EssayFinding a sample essay to accompany your personal development activities can be an excellent idea if you are working on a personal development plan or journal. These papers can be created by simply outlining what you hope to achieve through personal development and writing out goals for these areas, based on your individual reading list.One thing that is essential when writing personal development essays is to consider all the reasons why you want to undertake the assignment. It is also important to set the conditions for success such as the time frame, budget, and resources you have available to you. You may wish to have a second or third draft of the essay and to make changes at this stage, so that you do not lose focus of your goal.Once you have decided on the types of themes you want to cover, you should have a list of topics to write about. Some of the examples are: interpersonal relationships, values, goals, purpose, environment, personal res ources, and others. These topics will be based on the ideas you have developed throughout your personal development activities.There are many resources available to help you make personal development papers. These include personal development journals, books, websites, and many other sites that provide advice on personal development and related subjects. They can help you research yourself and can aid in helping you make effective use of paper writing software to produce the best papers.Many times, there are two very different styles for writing personal development and interview essays. It can be difficult to get into the proper mode of writing when the reader is aware of the difference between the two. However, it is better to do some research in advance, as this will ensure you make the right choice in terms of personal development.Sample essays will not give you the best chance of success, asthey are usually based on personal questions. You will need to go through your writing a nd evaluate whether or not your answers are strong enough to serve as effective answers to the questions. It is crucial that you choose a topic that is relevant to you.Consider writing an essay to cover your list of potential topics. This will help you work through the problems you face as you create your personal development journal.

How to Write a Great TOEFL or TOEIC Essay

How to Write a Great TOEFL or TOEIC Essay Writing an essay can be a difficult enough task as it is; writing it a language that is your first language is even harder. If youre taking the TOEFL or the TOEIC and have to complete a writing assessment, then read these instructions for organizing a great five-paragraph essay in English. Paragraph One: The Introduction This first paragraph, made up of 3-5 sentences, has two purposes: grabbing the readers attention, and providing the main point (thesis) of the whole essay. To get the readers attention, your first few sentences are key. Use descriptive words, an anecdote, a striking question or an interesting fact related to your topic to draw the reader in. To state your main point, your last sentence in the first paragraph is key. Your first few sentences of the introduction basically introduce the topic and grab the readers attention. The last sentence of the introduction tells the reader what you think about the assigned topic and lists the points that youre going to write about in the essay.Heres an example of a good introductory paragraph given the topic, Do you think teenagers should have jobs while they are still students?: Ive worked ever since I was twelve. As a teenager, I cleaned houses for my family members, made banana splits at an ice cream parlor, and waited tables at various restaurants. I did it all while carrying a pretty good grade point average in school, too! I definitely believe that teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job teaches discipline, earns them cash for school, and keeps them out of trouble. Paragraphs Two - Four: Explaining Your Points Once youve stated your thesis, you have to explain yourself! The thesis in the example introduction was I definitely believe that teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job teaches discipline, earns them cash for school, and keeps them out of trouble. The job of the next three paragraphs is to explain the points of your thesis using statistics, examples from your life, literature, the news or other places, facts, examples, and anecdotes. Paragraph Two: Explains the first point from your thesis: Teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job teaches discipline. Paragraph Three: Explains the second point from your thesis: Teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job earns them cash for school. Paragraph Four: Explains the third point from your thesis: Teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job keeps them out of trouble. In each of the three paragraphs, your first sentence, called the topic sentence, will be the point youre explaining from your thesis. After the topic sentence, youll write 3-4 more sentences explaining why this fact is true. The last sentence should transition you to the next topic. Heres an example of what paragraph two would look like: First, teenagers should have jobs while they are still students because a job teaches discipline. When I was working at the ice cream store, I had to show up every day on time or I would have gotten fired. That taught me how to keep a schedule, which is a big part of learning discipline. As I cleaned the floors and washed the windows of my family members homes, I knew they would be checking up on me, so I worked hard to do my best, which taught me an important facet of discipline, which is thoroughness. But being disciplined isnt the only reason its a good idea for teenagers to work during school; it can also bring in the money! Paragraph Five: Concluding the Essay Once youve written the introduction, explained your main points in the body of the essay, transitioning nicely between them all, your final step is to conclude the essay. The conclusion, made up of 3-5 sentences, has two purposes: to recap what youve stated in the essay, and leave a lasting impression on the reader. To recap, your first few sentences are key. Restate the three major points of your essay in different words, so you know the reader has understood where you stand. To leave a lasting impression, your last sentences are key. Leave the reader with something to think about before ending the paragraph. You could try a quote, a question, an anecdote, or simply a descriptive sentence. Heres an example of a conclusion: I cant speak for anyone else, but my experience has taught me that having a job while being a student is a very good idea. Not only does it teach people to have character in their lives, it can give them the tools they need to succeed like money for college tuition or a good reputation. Sure, its hard to be a teenager without the added pressure of a job, but with all the benefits of having one, its too important not to make the sacrifice. Like Mike would say, Just do it.

College Term Paper

College Term Paper College Term Paper College Term Paper Term paper writing is an answer to question assigned by the tutor. While writing term paper, try to think deeply about the assigned question and find the answer to it. If you want to succeed with term paper writing, you need to analyze the question, examine it, and find interesting and original answer.   Prior to term paper writing, ensure that you understand exactly what your tutor expects. While reading articles and books, collect information and organize notes on your topic. Make note cards, they are very helpful in organizing the gathered material. Once you have found a lot of information relevant to your term paper topic and do not know how to use it - try to narrow your topic and investigate carefully one side of the question. A narrow topic will help you to decrease the amount of information you need to include in your term paper. But, of course, it will be reasonable to narrow your term paper topic prior to writing and information gathering. A narrowed topic will help you f ind relevant information more quickly since you will be able to see the relevant ideas at once. Your narrowed topic allows more focused reasoning as well as targeted research. While looking for information, make a list of the subtopics, they will be useful for better understanding of English term paper topic. College Term Paper Term paper topics require your own way of thinking, your tutor doesn't want to see borrowed ideas. Sure, your tutor is an expert in the field of your research. The notes should be taken reasonably so that you collect only ideas that are relevant to the main topic, not exact words, phrases or sentences. Don't write down too many direct quotes in your notes. Organize the direct quotes according to term paper format. Use the quotes only when the ideas of them are surprisingly expressed or when you need citing examples from the original text to further discussion in your term paper. Always write down a work's complete bibliographic information. If you are making notes on paper, leave lots of free space for your own comments, questions, and reactions to your reading. These comments can virtually become the first draft of your term paper. While writing the first paragraph, provide some background information about your topic; you can use interesting facts or quotations. While writing intro duction, don't forget about thesis statement that is basically the term paper idea. Body paragraphs should be developed to support your thesis - the main idea of the college term paper. The last paragraph should be your conclusion. Custom College Term Paper Writing If you need to write a term paper and do not have enough time, you are welcome to place an order at and our professional writers will ensure that your paper is well-written and answers the question.

Trading goods and jobs Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Trading goods and jobs - Essay Example Sweatshops are working environments with unhygienic inhumane conditions that are often viewed by most people in industrialised nations to be difficult and unsafe. The employees do not have much say in how the business is managed and how they are treated by their bosses. This can include extreme high temperatures, abuse from the employers, dangerous situations and exposure to harmful materials (Gordon, 65). The workers are normally required to work for such long hours without a break in between. Sweatshops are often associated with developing countries, although they may still exist in any country. The problem does not only stop with the working environment but there is also the problem of the low wages associated with sweatshops. In most countries with sweatshops, the employees are paid lower than the minimum wage that has been set by the government. Expecting someone to live on these low salaries is almost impossible. Majority of the employees spend more than they make, which implies that they go to bed hungry most of the time. In addition, the low wages are not enough to pay for their basic needs; it cannot take care of their families, school, rent and medical bills (Gordon, 70). Due to this, most of these people are forced to include the whole family in the work. The other major problem with sweatshops is child labour. For decades, people have been fighting against this although not much has changed. However, people still need to earn a living, even if it means that children are also involved in the work. Most families in the sweatshops are from poor families and are amenable to do whatever it takes to earn income. The employers, on the other hand, have no problem with this because child labour to them means cheap labour. Sweatshops usually involve low levels of technology and produce a variety of goods at once. This implies that it is cost saving for

Dream act Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Dream act - Essay Example Here the Dream Act allows temporary residency only for minors who have good character. â€Å"Hence the dream Act gives an opportunity to build the career of helpless children; I support the bill with wholeheartedness† (Thesis). It is not abnormal to punish the immigrants who lands up illegally in America because many a times theses people turns out to be criminals and offenders of law. But the children migrated along with their parents are innocent and helpless. So bill like Dream Act saves their lives. Even though Dream act nurture the life of migrant youth, this can motivate more illegal immigrants to land in America. They would be motivated to come to USA and utilize the dream act to make up and establish the lives of their children. America is a rich country and it is the obligation of the country to give home to poor and less fortunate people of developing and poor countries. But this must be done on a restrictive amount. It is not necessary for the government to give shelter to all illegal immigrants but only to a certain percentage of migrants who has good human values. Illegal immigrant is poor and helpless, but this does not omit the fact of them having unethical character and criminal background. In such a circumstance, the government should ban the arrival of illegal immigrants and should deport the one who cross the borders by cheating the border security. It is mostly Mexican and Hispanic migrants who cross the border illegally spread violence, crime and substance abuse in United States Dream Act is indefinitely a good approach to help the children of illegal immigrants but government should also give education to the adults who cross American borders. Educating these people bring in some refinement in their personality and would make them potential for professional employment. If people are taught professional skill and techniques, they can make a living in their own county. After educating and giving them professional skill, they would be

The Iron and steel industry

The Iron and steel industry CHAPER-IIOVERVIEW OF IRON AND STEEL INDUSTRYIntroduction Steel is crucial to the development of any modern economy and is considered to be the backbone of human civilisation. The level of per capita consumption of steel is treated as an important index of the level of socioeconomic development and living standards of the people in any country. It is a product of a large and technologically complex industry having strong forward and backward linkages in terms of material flows and income generation. All major industrial economies are characterised by the existence of a strong steel industry and the growth of many of these economies has been largely shaped by the strength of their steel industries in their initial stages of development. Steel industry was in the vanguard in the liberalisation of the industrial sector and has made rapid strides since then. The new greenfield plants represent the latest in technology. Output has increased, the industry has moved up in the value chain and exports have risen consequent to a greater integration with the global economy. The new plants have also brought about a greater regional dispersion easing the domestic supply position notably in the western region. At the same time, the domestic steel industry faces new challenges. Some of these relate to the trade barriers in developed markets and certain structural problems of the domestic industry notably due to the high cost of commissioning of new projects. The domestic demand too has not improved to significant levels. The litmus test of the steel industry will be to surmount these difficulties and remain globally competitive. Historical Perspective The finished steel production in India has grown from a mere 1.1 million tonnes in 1951 to 31.63 million tonnes in 2001-2002. During the first two decades of planned economic development, i.e. 1950-60 and 1960-70, the average annual growth rate of steel production exceeded 8%. However, this growth rate could not be maintained in the following decades. During 1970- 80, the growth rate in steel production came down to 5.7% per annum and picked up marginally to 6.4% per annum during 1980-90, which further increased to 6.65% per annum during 1990-2000. Though India started steel production in 1911, steel exports from India began only in 1964. Exports in the first five years were mainly due to recession in the domestic iron and steel market. Once domestic demand revived, exports declined. India once again started exporting steel only in 1975 touching a figure of 1 million tonnes of pig iron and 1.4 million tonnes of steel in 1976-77. Thereafter, exports again declined to pick up only in 1991-92, when the main producers exported 3.87 lakh tonnes, which rose to 2.79 million tonnes in 1995-96 and 3.3 million tonnes in 2001-02. The growth in the steel sector in the early decades after Independence was mainly in the public sector units set up during this period. The situation has changed dramatically in the decade 1990-2000 with most of the growth originating in the private sector. The share of public sector and private sector in the production of steel during 1990-91 was 46% and 54% respectively, while during 2001-02 the same was 32% and 68% respectively. This change was brought about by deregulation and decontrol of the Indian iron steel sector in 1991. A number of policy measures have been taken since 1991 for the growth and development of the Indian iron steel sector. Some of the important steps are (a) removal of iron steel industry from the list of industries reserved for the public sector and also exempting it from the provisions of compulsory licensing under the Industries (Development Regulation) Act, 1951, (b) deregulation ofprice and distribution of iron steel, (c) inclusion of iron and steel industry in the list of high priority industries for automatic approval for foreign equity investments upto 51%. This limit has been since increased upto 100%, (d) lowering of import duty on capital goods and raw materials etc. Growth of the Indian Steel Sector after Liberlisation Finished Carbon Steel The Indian steel sector was the first core sector to be completely removed from the licensing regime as well as pricing and distribution controls. This was done primarily because of the inherent strengths and capabilities demonstrated by the Indian iron and steel industry. The growth rate in 1995-96 was a phenomenal 20%. During 1996-97, finished steel production shot up to a record 22.72 million tonnes with a growth rate of 6.2%, while in 1997-98, the finished steel production increased to 23.37 million tonnes, which was 2.8% more than the production of the preceding year. The growth rate decreased drastically in 1997-98 and 1998-99 being 2.8% and 1.9% respectively. The growth rate in 2001-2002 was 4.29% with the total production touching 31.63 million tonnes. The production of finished steel during April -December, 2002 has been 23.83 million tonnes, which is 6.3% higher than the production during the corresponding period of 2001-02. Details of total production of finished carbon steel and the share of main and secondary producers in it from 1991-92 onwards are set out in the following table: Production of Finished Carbon Steel (In million tonnes) Year MainProducersSecondaryProducersTotal1991-92 7.96 (55%) 6.37 (45%) 14.331992-93 8.41 (55%) 6.79 (45%) 15.201993-94 8.77 (57.6%) 6.43 (42.4%) 15.201994-95 9.57 (53.8%) 8.25 (46.2%) 17.821995-96 10.59 (49.5%) 10.81 (50.5%) 21.401996-97 10.54 (46.4%) 12.18(53.6%) 22.721997-98 10.44 (44.6%) 12.93(55.4%) 23.371998-99 9.91 (41.6%) 13.91(58.4%) 23.821999-2000 11.20 (41.9%) 15.51(58.1%) 26.712000-2001 12.49 (43%) 16.78(57%) 29.272001-2002 13.05 (42.6%) 17.58(57.4%) 31.632002-2003(Till December,2002)10.38 (44%) 13.45(56%) 23.83(Figures in bracket indicate the percentage share)Pig IronAlongwith the production of steel, the production of pig iron in the countryhas also increased. The details since 1991-92 are as under :-(In million tonnes)Year MainProducersSecondary Producers Total1991-92 1.485 0.102 1.5871992-93 1.679 0.165 1.8441993-94 1.977 0.273 2.2501994-95 2.005 0.780 2.7851995-96 1.735 1.060 2.7951996-97 1.733 1.557 3.2901997-98 1.760 1.687 3.4471998-99 1.354 1.644 2.9981999-2000 1.2 45 1.900 3.1452000-2001 0.970 2.430 3.4002001-2002 1.016 3.055 4.0712002-2003( Till Dec. 2002)0.810 3.075 3.885 Sponge Iron During the early 90s, the sponge iron industry had been specially promoted so as to provide an alternative to steel melting scrap, which was increasingly becoming scarce. The production of sponge iron (Direct Reduced Iron DRI) during the period 1991-92 to 2002-03 was as under:- (In million tonnes) Year Production % increase 1991-92 1.31 1992-93 1.44 9.91993-94 2.40 66.71994-95 3.39 41.31995-96 4.40 29.81996-97 5.01 13.81997-98 5.35 6.781998-99 5.11 -4.48.1999-2000 5.18 1.372000-2001 5.44 5.012001-2002 5.66 3.992002-2003 (Till December 2002) 4.50 - As per the International Iron and Steel Institute, India has emerged as the largest producer of sponge iron in the world in 2001. Production of sponge iron in the country as an alternative feed material to steel melting scrap, which was being imported hitherto in large quantities by the Electric Arc Furnace Units and the Induction Furnace Units, has resulted in considerable savings in foreign exchange. Apparent Consumption of Steel Apparent consumption of steel is arrived at by subtracting export of steel from the total of domestic production and adding the import of steel in the country. Change in stock is also adjusted in arriving at the consumption figures. It is also treated as the actual domestic demand of steel in the country. Details of year-wise apparent consumption of finished steel since 1990-91 are given in the table below :- (In million tonnes)Year ApparentConsumption 1990-91 14.371991-92 14.83 (3.2%)1992-93 15.00 (1.2%)1993-94 15.32 (2.0%)1994-95 18.66 (21.8%)1995-96 21.65 (16.0%)1996-97 22.13 (2.2%)1997-98 22.63 (2.6%)1998-99 23.54(4.02%)1999-2000 25.01(6.24%)2000-2001 26.53(6.08%)2001-2002 27.44(3.39%)2002-2003(Till December,2002)20.65(5.0%) (The figures in brackets indicate the% percentage increase over the previous year. The apparent consumption of steel did not show any substantive increase in 2001-2002 mainly due to slowdown being faced by some of the steel using industries like automobile and engineering industries and construction. With the revival of demand for automobile and engineering goods and general improvement in the economy, it is expected that consumption of steel will increase further. Indias per capita crude steel consumption, as per the latest available figures is 27 Kg, which is far below the level of other developed and developing countries 472.4 kg., 428.6 kg. and 128 kg. in USA, EU and China respectively. With the ongoing economic liberalisation resulting in faster economic growth, steel consumption is expected to increase rapidly. Long Term Demand-Availability Projections of Finished SteelIn order to have a long term perspective to facilitate planning, a Sub-Group on Steel and Ferro Alloys was constituted for the steel sector under the aegis of the Planning Commission. The Sub-Group deliberated upon all aspects including supply-demand projections for finished steel during the period 2001-02 to 2011-12. Considering a GDP growth rate of 6.5% as realistic during the 10thPlan, the Sub-Group has projected the demand of finished carbon steel in the country to rise as follows:- (In million tonnes)Year Forecast of demand for Finished Carbon Steel 2001-02 28.242002-03 30.012003-04 31.912004-05 33.922005-06 36.052006-07 38.222007-08 40.742008-09 43.302009-10 46.032010-11 48.932011-12 52.01 Import and Export of Iron and Steel(a) Import of Steel Import in steel sector has been mainly in plates, hot rolled coils, cold rolled coils and semis. Import of steel (carbon, alloy and stainless ) during 2002-03 (upto December, 2002) was about 0.72 million tonnes. Import of steel (carbon, alloy and stainless) during 2001-02 was about 1.50 million tonnes, which was 17.43% less than imports in 2000-2001. The total import of steel, pig iron and scrap during the last five years and value thereof was as under :- Import of Steel, Pig Iron Steel Scrap (Quantity in million tonnes)(Value in Rupees crores )Category 1998-99 1999-00 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03(Provisional)(Upto Jan., 2003)Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. Value Qty. ValueSaleableSteel1.652 2459.00 2.200 2930.00 1.885 2712.00 1.501 2260.00 1.470 2286.00Pig Iron 0.002 2.00 0.003 2.00 0.002 2.00 .002 2.36 0 .001 1.48SteelScrap0.880 478.00 1.076 584.00 1.512 945.00 1.980 1206.00 1. 225 820.00Total 2.534 2939.00 3.279 3516.00 3.399 3659.00 3.483 3468.36 2.696 3107.48 (b) Export of Steel The general policy and procedures for export and import of iron and steel, ferro alloys and ferro scrap are at present decided by the Ministry of Commerce in consultation with the Ministry of Steel. In a momentous move to push exports aggressively, Government of India has announced several measures in the new Five-year Exim policy (2002-07), which is in effect from 1st April 2002. These include the removal of quantitative restrictions on exports save in respect of a few sensitive items; permission for setting up overseas banking units in Special Economic Zones (SEZ); retention of duty-neutralisation instruments including Duty Entitlement Pass Book (DEPB) and other export promotion schemes. The most important move in the new Exim Policy is the reduction of transaction time for exporters by introduction of a new eight-digit commodity classification in line with imports. Under Advance Licensing, the new policy abolishes Duty Exemption Entitlement Certificate (DEEC) Book, a practice foll owed since 1975. The policy also withdraws Advance Licence for annual requirements. Exporters can now avail Advance Licence for any value. The Union Ministry of Commerce Industry has recently gone in for a hike/ revision in the DEPB rates for steel exporters, covering exports of galvanised products, hot rolled coils and cold rolled coils. For HR coils, the rate has been revised to 15%, while for galvanised plain/galvanised coated and cold rolled, the present rates are at 17% and 18% respectively. DEPB Scheme hasbeen made further attractive by including SAD in DEPB with effect from 1st April, 2002. Indias major market for steel and steel items include USA, Canada, Indonesia, Italy, West Asia, Nepal, Taiwan, Thailand, Japan, Sri Lanka and Belgium. The major steel items of export include HR coils, plates, CR and galvanized products, pipes, stainless steel, wire rods and wires. With the fall in prices along with depressed domestic demand, India has been increasing exports to overcome the excess supply situation. This has resulted in antidumping actions being taken by developed countries like USA, EU and Canada. The trade action by some countries against Indian steel industry has, to some extent, affected Indias exports to these countries. The Government of India and the Indian steel producers are trying to combat such actions despite such efforts being very expensive and involving time-consuming procedures. Details of the quantity and value of steel, pig iron and sponge iron exported from the year 1998-99 are given in the table below: Item 1998-99 1999-2000 2000-01 2001-02 2002-03** (Apr.-Dec.02)Saleable Steel 2.400 3.340 2.570 3.300 2.750Pig Iron* 0.276 0.290 0.232 0.312 0.351Sponge Iron* 0.169 Nil Nil Nil NilTotal 2.845 3.630 2.802 3.612 3.101*Source DGCIS ** Provisional Current Global Scenario In the year 2000, the World Crude Steel production was 848 million tonnes, showing an impressive growth of 7.6% over the previous year. The world steel consumption also rose by almost 8%. The international steel trade constituted around 303 million tons or 40.5% of the production. In 2001 and 2002, world crude steel production was 833.70 million tonnes and 886.70 million tonnes, respectively. The following significant developments have been witnessed recently in the global steel scenario: There has been a spate of mergers and acquisitions all over the world in the steel industry. This is a relatively new development in the steel industry and is not confined only to companies within the same country but often involved cross border acquisitions and mergers. China has emerged as the most vibrant market for steel production and consumption. The crisis of excess capacity and prevalence of market distorting practices in the global steel market has induced protectionist measures from a number of steel trading countries. To address these issues a series of high level inter-governmental meetings have been held under the auspices of the OECD. In March 2002, the US President announced imposition of temporary safeguard measures on import of key steel products into USA. In retaliation in respect to the US action, EU has also imposed provisional safeguard measures against import of certain steel products. China, Canada and Thailand etc. have initiated safeguard investigations agai nst import of steel products into their countries. Domestic Steel Sector Scenario The iron and steel sector has been experiencing a slowdown in the last few years. The steel market remained sluggish and price levels of steel and steel products remained stagnant. This stagnancy resulted in steel companies registering net losses. However, steel prices started to pick up from April 2002 and this upturn is expected to help steel companies to reduce their net losses. The growth of steel sector is dependent upon the growth of the economy in general and the growth of industrial production and infrastructure sectors in particular. The major reasons for the slow growth in the steel sector during the last few years include: (a) Cost escalation in the input materials for iron and steel Power tariff, freight rates, coal prices etc. have been under the administered price regime. These rates have been frequently enhanced, thereby contributing to the rise in input costs for steel making.(b) Continuous reduction in import duty on iron and steel After liberalisation, import duty rates on iron and steel items have been gradually reduced over the years. This has opened up the domestic iron and steel sector to international competition. The extent of changes brought about in the customs duty of some of the items of steel since 1993-94 are given below: (Import Duties % Ad valorem )Item 1993-941994-951995-961996-971997-98 1998-991999-20002000-01 2001-02HR COILS 50% 40% 30% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25% 25%CR COILS 75% 50% 40% 25% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Plates 75% 50% 40% 30% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Bars/ Rods/Structurals85% 50% 40% 30% 30% 30% 35% 35% 35%Measures taken by Ministry of Steel to boost Demand The Ministry of Steel has been making all out efforts to help the domestic steel sector to overcome the problems faced by the steel industry and boost demand for steel in the steel consuming sectors. These include:- (a) Establishing Training cum Service institutes The Ministry has endeavored to promote research and developmental efforts by industry as well as provide technical support and trained manpower to the steel producing and consuming sectors. The following institutes have been set up:- (i) The Institute for Steel Development and Growth (INSDAG), Kolkata (West Bengal):- This is meant to promote usage of steel primarily in the construction industry by producing working designs and updating Engineering College syllabi. (ii) Biju Patnaik National Steel Institute, Puri (Orissa):- This has been set up for providing training-cum-service promotion for the industry. (iii) National Institute of Secondary Steel Technology(NISST), Mandi Govind Garh (Punjab):- This is primarily meant to promote upgradation of manpower in the secondary steel industry. (b) Campaign for increasing demand for Steel The Development Commissioner for Iron Steel (DCIS) has launched a National Campaign for increasing the demand for steel, in non-traditional sectors, particularly in the construction, rural and agro-based industrial sectors. In this connection, a conference was held on 21.9.2002 jointly organised by Ministry of Steel and Ministry of Rural Development for promotion of use of steel in the rural markets. Various measures were suggested to increase the use of steel in the rural areas. It was decided that the cooperation of Ministry of Surface Transport, Ministry of Tribal Affairs, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Small Scale Industries Agro and Rural Industries, Ministry of Consumers Affairs and Public Distribution and Planning Commission may be obtained for the mission. (c) Reduction in Power Rail Tariffs In order to make despatches of iron and steel material more attractive through the railways, the Railway Board has been requested to consider lowering the classification of steel; give freight discount to bulk users and to bring down freight rates of iron and steel commodities. (d) Reduction in input costs The Ministry of Steel has been able to rationalise the classification of coking coal in consultation with the Coal Ministry so as to reduce the impact of royalty payable on this basic raw material. Import duties on several raw materials used by the steel industry have been reduced steadily over the past 4 -5 years. (e) Strengthening of Anti Dumping mechanism The Directorate General of Anti-Dumping And Allied Duties under the Ministry of Commerce is the ‘Designated Authority to initiate necessary action for investigation and subsequent imposition of anti-dumping duty when there is sufficient evidence of imports being dumped in India. A recent study by the Metal Bulletin Review reveals that in case of flat products, almost every steel producing country has either an anti-dumping case instituted against it or has started a case against exporting countries. As the consumption in India was increasing with the increase of domestic availability, the steel exporters particularly from the Russian/CIS countries have been depressing the Indian market by unduly cheap exports through dumping. India has already imposed anti-dumping duties mainly on HR products imported from these countries. Apart from the flat products, there has been imposition of antidumping duties on certain grades of alloy and non-alloy steel billets, bars and rounds from China and Russia. (f) OECD Meetings The crisis of excess capacity and prevalence of market distorting practices in the global steel market has induced protectionist measures from a number of steel trading countries. To address these issues, a series of High Level Inter- Governmental meetings have been held in which representatives from countries accounting for nearly 95% of the total steel production have been participation. These meetings serviced by the OECD Secretariat are being held in pursuance of President Bushs initiatives for a multilateral steel capacity. These initiatives are being supported by major steel producing nations including the European Community and Japan. Five High Level Meetings have already been held. India has a number of concerns with regard to the modalities of excess capacity reduction and enforcement of disciplines in the steel market. India has not forecast any closure of surplus steel capacity. It has been pointed out that our installed capacity which had reached around 40 million tonnes per annum in the mid to late nineties, is now estimated to be around 33-34 million tonnes against domestic demand of around 29 million tonnes. This is largely on account of closure of units in the secondary sector due to operation of market forces. The other participating countries have, however, forecast closure of excess capacity to the extent of 95-100 million tonnes by 2010 and furnished detailed break down of likely closure by 2005. The Working Group on Capacity, established during the third High Level Meeting, will monitor these market forecasts. Future Prospects With the onset of liberalisation, the steel industry has to gear-up, not only to meet domestic competition, but also the global competition in terms of product range, quality and price. The growth of the steel sector is intricately linked with the growth of the Indian economy and especially the growth of the steel consuming sectors. India has become self-sufficient in iron and steel materials in the last 3-4 years. Exports are rising and imports are taking place mostly in a few specialised categories. Production and production capacities are increasing. The position needs to be further consolidated and issues affecting production and consumption need to be resolved on a continuous basis. At the same time, productivity of our steel plants must be maintained at levels close to international standards. The Ministry of Steel continues to play an active and major role in helping the steel industry to overcome bottlenecks in the growth of this sector. Steel Exporters Forum The Ministry of Steel has set up a Steel Exporters Forum in February 1998 with a view to fulfil the long felt need of the producers and exporters from the iron and steel sector and also to resolve issues, problems and bottlenecks faced by them in exports. The Chairman of the Forum is the Development Commissioner for Iron and Steel. All major steel producers/associations are its members. Representatives of the Ministries of Finance, Railways and Surface Transport are also its members in addition to the Ministry of Steel.