Ministry of Steel to Set Up Steel Industry Safety Council

The correct answer is the Secretary, Ministry of Steel. The Council has been placed under the administrative control of the Ministry of Steel and its Secretary has been made its Chairman, with senior officers of the Ministry and the chief executives of integrated steel producers sitting as members. Option A is wrong because the Minister has not been named as the head of this body, even though the decision to create it was taken by the Ministry he leads. Option C is wrong because the Directorate General of Mines Safety is one of the statutory organisations that will be represented on the Council, not the body that chairs it. Option D is wrong for the same reason: the National Disaster Management Authority is a represented organisation and not the chair. Candidates should remember that an apex body under a ministry is usually chaired by its Secretary.

The correct answer is the Steel Industry Safety Directorate, abbreviated as SISD. It is being established alongside the Council to supply technical and professional expertise in areas such as process safety, blast furnaces, steel melting, rolling mills, coke ovens, refractory systems, electrical and mechanical safety, occupational health, fire engineering and disaster management. The Directorate will also oversee implementation of the Council's decisions, carry out periodic safety audits, maintain information on accidents and near-miss incidents, investigate serious safety events and issue safety standards, recommended practices and guidelines suited to Indian conditions. The other three names in the options do not exist in this announcement and have been placed there only as distractors. Note the pairing of a council that decides with a directorate that executes.

The correct answer is the Securities and Exchange Board of India. That body regulates the securities market and has nothing to do with industrial safety in steel plants, so it does not figure in the composition of the new Council. Options A, B and D are all wrong choices for this question because each of those organisations has been named as a participant. The Directorate General of Mines Safety deals with safety in mines and related workplaces, the Petroleum and Explosives Safety Organisation regulates hazardous substances such as fuels and explosives, and the National Disaster Management Authority is the apex body for disaster management in the country. Along with recognised steel technology institutions, they will bring technical and statutory expertise to the Council chaired by the Secretary, Ministry of Steel.