Why in the News?
The Visakhapatnam Steel Plant (RINL-VSP) is nearing a complete shutdown due to a severe shortage of coking coal and funds. Two of its three blast furnaces, Annapurna and Godavari, have already been closed with the blast furnace Krishna, expected to cease operations in five to six days if fresh coal supplies do not arrive. This would mark the first complete halt in production since the plant’s opening in 1982.
Vizag Steel Plant
- Founded: 1982
- Headquarters: Visakhapatnam, Andhra Pradesh
- Vishakhapatnam Steel Plant is also known as Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), is a government-owned steel producer.
- It is a Navratna Public Sector Enterprise (PSE) under the Ministry of Steel.
- It is the first shore-based integrated steel plant in India.
- It produces a wide range of products including wire rods, rounds, rebars, billets, and structural steel.
- It operated three blast furnaces—Godavari, Annapurna, and Krishna—for hot metal production.
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ANDHRA PRADESH
- Location: Southeastern coast of India, bordered by Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Telangana, and Odisha
- Capital: Visakhapatnam (Administrative) and Amaravati (Legislative).
- Regions: Coastal plains, Eastern Ghats, and the Deccan Plateau.
- Major Rivers: Godavari, Krishna, Penna
- Soils: Red lateritic and black soil, with low fertility and salinity problems
- It has the country’s second-longest coastline, at 974 km, including two intermediate ports (Kakinada and Machilipatnam) and ten small ports.
- Minerals: Bauxite, Limestone, Granite, Mica, Iron Ore, Dolomite, Quartzite, Gold
- Official Language: Telugu (Declared classical language in 2008)
- Governor: Syed Abdul Nazeer
- Chief Minister: N. Chandrababu Naidu
- Key Economic Zones: Visakhapatnam, Vijayawada
- History
- It merged with Telangana to form the new state of Andhra Pradesh under the States Reorganization Act of 1956.
- It was the first linguistic state in India.
- Potti Sreeramulu: His hunger strike led to the creation of Andhra State.
- On June 2, 2014, Telangana became a separate state, and Andhra Pradesh was reorganized as a new state.
- Key Initiatives
- Andhra Pradesh State Skill Development Corporation (APSSDC)
- Navaratnalu Scheme
- Amma Vodi Scheme
- Jagananna Vidya Deevena
- AP FiberNet
- Mission Kakatiya
- Wildlife and Bird Sanctuary
- Nagarjunsagar-Srisailam Tiger reserve
- Pulicat Lake Bird Sanctuary
- Coringa Wildlife Sanctuary (Mangrove forests)
- Krishna Wildlife Sanctuary
- Atapaka Bird Sanctuary (Kolleru Lake)
- Papikonda Wildlife Sanctuary
- Major Dams
- Kalyani Dam, Kalyani River
- Nagarjuna Sagar dam, Krishna River
- Kandaleru Dam, Kandaleru River
- Polavaram dam, Godavari River
- Mylavaram dam, Penna River
- Jalaput Dam, Machkund River
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Location of Andhra Pradesh
