Cabinet may decide on closure of Hind Cables in a month: Geete

The Union Cabinet is likely to decide in a month shutting down terminally sick Hindustan Cables by offering a voluntary retirement scheme (VRS) to its 1,500 employees, Union Minister Anant Geete said today.
"We are in the process of sending the individual proposal for shutting down Hindustan Cables entailing formalities like a voluntary retirement scheme, outstanding dues, etc. The Cabinet may take it up for approval in a month's time," Geete told PTI.
The Cabinet had earlier approved the closure of seven terminally sick public sector units, including Hindustan Cables, which have incurred a total loss of around Rs 3,139 crore over a period of time.

The ministry was tasked with firming up individual proposals entailing VRS related to the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) falling under it, including Hindustan Cables.
However, reports of revival of the company had surfaced after the Defence Ministry approved its takeover by Ordnance Factory Board. The Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises was supposed to take a call on it after taking into account views of all the ministries concerned.
Hindustan Cables, set up in 1952 at Rupnarayanpur (West Bengal), has units in different states.

However, the company's units in West Bengal and Hyderabad producing Polythene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cables had not been in production since January 2003, as there is no requirement of these cables in BSNL/MTNL.

Similarly, the unit at Naini, Allahabad producing optical fibre cable had also become obsolete due to change in the product specification.
The PSUs where closure had earlier been approved are HMT Bearings, Tungabhadra Steel Products, Hindustan Photo Films Manufacturing Co, HMT Watches, HMT Chinar Watches, Hindustan Cables and Spices Trading Corporation Ltd.