Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company (JUSCO)

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Beginning March 1, 2004, Jamshedpur Utilities and Services Company Limited (JUSCO), along with Veolia Water India began operations to supply water and power to about 750,000 residents residing within the jurisdiction of Jamshedpur Notified Area Committee (JNAC) in the State of Jharkand. Jamshedpur was India’s first industrial city and the Tata steel plant was established there in 1907. Jamshedpur did not have a municipal body for self governance and Tata Steel’s Town Services Division had provided municipal services to its residents for close to a century. Tata Steel was spending upwards of Rs 100 crore (US$21.47 million) per year to provide these services which also included pay roll services, management of Tata group owned schools and civil construction works like bridges, roads, parks etc. In an effort to be more competitive in its core business of steel production, Tata Steel Ltd. (TSL) decided to spin off its Town Management Division to JUSCO and seek the assistance of an experienced multinational utility firm. JUSCO was incorporated in August 2003 as a wholly owned subsidiary of TSL, the flagship company of the Tata Group. Veolia Water India was a wholly owned subsidiary of Veolia Water Africa -Middle East - India (AMI), itself a subsidiary of Veolia Environnement of France. JUSCO was to own and manage all city utilities while Veolia Water India was to provide expertise for reducing operating costs, increasing revenue, bringing management efficiency and monitoring performance through benchmarking practices.