Budgetary support worth Rs 109 cr for sick PSUs in Mar '09

The government has given Rs 109.30 crore budgetary support in March 2009 to sick/loss-making public sector units (PSU) for payment of pending wages and statutory dues, including Voluntary Retirement Scheme, to their employees.

Of this, Hindustan Cables got Rs 39.70 crore budgetary support for payment of pending wages and statutory dues in March 2009, according to the data provided in Rajya Sabha by the Minister of State for Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises Arun Yadav.

Other sick PSU which received budgetary support include HMT Watches (Rs 25.26 crore), Scooters India (Rs 9.45 crore), Instrumentation (Rs 8.73 crore), HMT (Holding) Co (Rs 6.98 crore), Hindustan Photo Films (Rs 6.65 crore), NEPA (Rs 6.26 crore), HMT (Chinar) Rs 3.29 crore, Triveni Structurals (Rs 1.74 crore) and Tunghbhadra Steel Products (Rs 1.24 crore).

"Budgetary support to sick/loss-making CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises) are not given in the form of grant, but in the form of loan towards payment of Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS)/Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS), other statutory dues and salary of their employees," Yadav said.

When asked about the criteria for giving grants to the sick PSEs, the minister said, "Such budgetary supports have covered all sick CPSEs under the Department of Heavy Industry, who are making operational losses."

During the last three years, 1,160 employees of various sick/loss making PSEs received support for VRS/VSS, he said.