TISCO - The World's Most Cost-Effective Steel Plant

TISCO was also planning to enter titanium mining through alliances with major global companies. To provide employment to the employees opting for VRS at over-manned units, TISCO planned to enter the call center business in Jamshedpur. To develop this business, TISCO entered into a marketing alliance with Tata International, the trading arm of Tata Group. TISCO also planned to exit from some of its non-core activities.

Critics felt that TISCO might face problems due to the decrease in demand for steel in the global and local markets and increasing competition from cheap imports, and anti-dumping duties imposed on the domestic steel manufacturers by the US. They felt that it was doubtful whether steel, even at the lowest cost, would deliver returns higher than the cost of capital in India. However, some analysts remarked that in the long run, TISCO's strategy to export to Jordan, Iraq and the Southeast Asian countries might reduce dependence on the US markets thus helping the company. They said that its entry into value-added products was expected to safeguard the company from the fluctuations in the steel prices.