Introduction
The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. shortly known as STC is a leading International trading company which is owned by the Government of India involved primarily in exports, and imports procedures. The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. was set up in the year1956 mainly with a view to commence trade with Eastern European Countries and to complement the efforts of private trading and industry in evolving exports from the country. The Corporation is well registered as an autonomous company in the Companies Act, 1956 and functions below the administrative control of the Ministry of Commerce & Industry, Government of India.The Corporation has played an important role in the history of Indian economy. In the pre- liberalization era, it operated as an arm for the Government of India not only to control foreign trade but also for an intervention in the local market. The Corporation has handled canalized exports and imports of great number of items ranging from chemicals and drugs to bulk supplies such as edible oils, cement, newsprint, wheat, sugar, urea, etc. thereby warranting timely availability and impartial distribution of mass consumption items as well as vital raw materials needed for various industries. Canalization has also helped the country to profit from economies of scale and has helped by keeping a close watch on the limited foreign exchange available.
Procedures to Guarantee Remunerative Prices
It started providing price support procedures to guarantee remunerative prices to growers for their yields such as shellac, tobacco, raw jute, rubber and vanilla as and when declared by the Government to do so. As part of its transfer development effort, The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. stretched technical, marketing and financial support to exporters by organizing import of machinery and raw material for transfer production, starting up design centers, giving testing laboratories, taking goods from small manufacturers to foreign markets by organizing their associations, contribution in exhibitions and trade fairs, etc.The Board of Directors of The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. contains of whole time Chairman cum Managing Director, 5 whole time Directors, 2 ex-officio Directors who are from the Ministry of Commerce and self-governing Directors selected directly by the Government from time to time. Currently, The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. has 7 self-governing directors on its Board.The Commercial office of the Corporation at New Delhi, is structured into various number of services and trading groups. These groups are regulated by the Chief Managers or General Managers who in turn report the happenings to their particular Chief General Managers or Directors.
The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. has 13 branch offices in India out of which the major ones are at Chennai, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Bengaluru and Hyderabad. The total manpower of the organization according to the statistics in the year 2011 is about 860 including 549 managers. STC has its own tank farms, warehouses, godowns at various other locations of the country for the purpose of storage of liquid or dry cargo. STC has a wholly owned subsidiary, namely, STCL Ltd., which is based at Bengaluru and is engaged in spices trading/auctions.
The current business controlled by STC can largely be classified into three major categories which are import of goods like edible oils, pulses and fertilizers as part of the Government of India, business supported out on behalf of business allies on back to back basis and the direct buying and selling of goods like tea, soybean seed, channa, etc.
Imports a part of the Government are organized by STC over floating of international tender and imported numbers are either passed over to the agency such as a FCI, Department of Fertilizers which is voted by the Government or sold in the local market through various tenders. Sometimes in case of back to back trade, the terms of exchange are confirmed in discussion with the business associate and STC charges a secure trade margin in the sort of 1% to 1.5%.
Hence, today The State Trading Corporation of India Ltd. undertakes exports or imports of a varied range of goods to or from countries from all over the world. Its export includes rice, wheat, tea, coffee, cashew, castor oil or seed, extractions, sugar, spices, jute goods, iron ore, light engineering goods, construction materials, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, consumer goods, processed foods, garments, jewelry, textiles, leather ware, etc. The Corporation also observes counter exchange obligations against the Government consumptions.
Main items of import done by STC actually includes gold, silver, sugar, edible oils, pulses, fertilizers, minerals, metals, ores, hydro carbons, petro chemicals and raw materials as needed for the Indian industries. It also takes care of import of technical and scientific equipment on behalf of the Forensic Science Laboratories, State Police and Intelligence Departments and also Paramilitary Organizations.
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