Category Archives: PSU

Matters connected with Public Sector Units (PSU)

Cabinet Committee clears assistance to ITI, HMT, Photo Films and Paper Corporations

01 Saturday Mar 2014

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The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) announced financial packages to four PSUs, ITI, HMT, Hindustan Paper Corporation and Cachar Paper Mill, which are facing serious financial crisis and declared sick.

ITI is having accumulated loss of Rs.4,527 crore and the salaries of the 7500 employees are not being paid regularly. Now a soft loan of Rs. 200 crore is allotted to pay the salary of the employees.

Likewise, HMT has been allotted financial assistance for payment of 1997 pay revision wages. The retirement age has been increased from 58 to 60. The total assistance for all these programmes is about Rs. 136.04 crore.

For the Paper Mills, an amount of Rs. 75 crore has been allotted as assistance.

This assistance is only a fraction of what is required for these PSUs. This belated assistance itself is only due to the coming general elections.

Permanent Numbers to EPF holders

27 Thursday Feb 2014

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The Employees Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has stated that it has decided to issue Permanent Numbers to its account holders which will help them to have the same Account No. even when they shift to another company or organisation. This will be a Permanent Account Number for life. There are more than 5 crore PF Account holders in the country.

COMPACT suspends penalty on Coal India Limited.

27 Thursday Feb 2014

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The Competition Appellate Tribunal (COMPACT) has suspended the penalty of Rs. 1,773 crore imposed on the PSU Coal India Limited by the Competition Commission of India (CCI) for alleged abuse of its market dominance. The case filed by the CIL will be heard in march.

It has been felt that the penalty was imposed on the CIL, to help the private coal companies.

Govt. not taking action on NPA – Bank Association

23 Sunday Feb 2014

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The Syndicate Bank Officers’ Association (SBOA) has called for stringent measures for defaulters from the government like attaching personal properties and declaring wilful defaulters as criminals to check banks’ non-performing assets. “Nearly 50 per cent of the NPAs — at around ₹1,00,000 crore — are from 30 to 40 big corporate houses, and they are patronised by the Government mainly by their inaction,” D S Punja, General Secretary, SBOA, said. (Courtesy: Businessline)

Active Subscribers of BSNL is only 7.53%, far below Airtel, Vodafone, Idea and Reliance

16 Sunday Feb 2014

Posted by in BSNL - Better Service to the Nation, BSNL News, PSU, Telecom

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Not only the BSNL is below on the total number of wireless connections to Airtel, Vodafone, Reliance and Idea, it is also much below all of them in active connections also.
The total wireless connections as in March 2013, the total connections and active connections are given below: % of active connections given in brackets.

Airtel 188,196071 ( 24.73%), Vodafone 152,353,654 (20.15%), Reliance 122,972,717 (14.76%), Idea 121,607,390 (16.63%) BSNL 101,206,625 (7.53%) MTNL 4,999,351 (0.32%).

The less number of active connections may be due to the government and other official connections. MTNL, which functions in Delhi and Mumbai alone has got only 0.32% connections.

However, this is a matter to be examined and the reason found out.

Scrap the Airports Privatisation

15 Saturday Feb 2014

Posted by in Neo-liberal policy, PSU

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The Government has been compelled to postpone the privatisation of the six airports viz. Kolkata, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Jaipur, Lucknow and Guwahati to March due to certain technical issues.

All these airports have already been modernised by Airport Authority of India (AAI), the PSU, at a high cost to the exchequer. The modernisation of Kolkata and Chennai airports had cost the AAI Rs 2,325 crore and Rs 2,015 crore respectively. The cases of other airports are also not different.

It is surprising how the UPA govt. is selling these airports along with the adjacent lands to the private companies at very meagre amount. The windfall benefit got to GMR, the private company which took over the Delhi Airport from the AAI is well known. The CAG has also pointed out the same. Despite that, the government is moving to privatise the other major profitable airports leaving the loss making ones to the AAI.

After privatisation of the airports, the price of car-parking, tea, coffee, snacks, for every thing has more than doubled up.The privatisation is only to maximise the profit of the private companies.

There should be strong protest against selling of these national assets for meagre price. These airports should continue with the AAI. Privatisation should be stopped.

Mobile Charges may increase after high Spectrum Bids

14 Friday Feb 2014

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The Government will get more than Rs.61,000 crores from the present 2G Auction, though it may be in installments. This year it will get about Rs. 18,000 crores. Well for the government.

But what will happen to the customers? Though big companies like Reliance, Vodafone, Airtel etc. have got sufficient margin and deep pockets, they will utilise the opportunity to raise tariffs on the plea of the high auction price.

More burden on the customers to maximise the profits of the corporates and the super-rich!

Government approves Rs. 4,156.79 crore for Revival of ITI

14 Friday Feb 2014

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The government today approved a Rs 4,156.79-crore plan for revival of ailing ITI Ltd which is expected to be implemented over a period of 18 months.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, approved the revival plan of ITI Limited based on the recommendations of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprise (BRPSE).

The CCEA, an official statement said, has also approved regular monitoring of the implementation of the revival plan to be done by suitable committees which will be constituted at the corporate level and unit level in ITI and by an Apex Committee to be chaired by Telecom Secretary.

“Out of Rs 4,156.79 crore, capital grant of Rs 2,264 crore will be given in the form of equity for project implementation (CAPEX) for up-grading manufacturing infrastructure at various units and for new projects,” the statement said.

The balance Rs 1,892.79 crore will be financial assistance in the form of grant-in-aid for statutory liabilities and other commitments made by ITI such as redemption of preferential share capital of BSNL/MTNL, arrears due to 1997 pay revision and VRS.

“The revival plan is expected to be implemented over a period of 18 months. With the cleaning of the balance sheet to a certain extent, ITI will be able to raise resources for their operations and compete in the market,” the release said.

Further, it said, with upgrading of the manufacturing infrastructure at its plants, ITI will be able to manufacture new technology products in telecom / diversified fields and able to increase its market share.

ITI Ltd, earlier known as Indian Telephone Industries Limited, was established in 1948 and later converted as the first PSU of the country to assist the Government in the sensitive and strategic telecommunication field.

Government holds majority equity stake in the Company. The company was referred to the BIFR in 2004-05 and declared a sick company.
(Courtesy: Business Standard)

Bank Employees Strike- FM Statement hollow

12 Wednesday Feb 2014

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The statement of the Finance Minister P.Chidambaram that bank profits could not be used only to enhance salaries of employees, but must be used for expansions is nothing short of ridiculing the bankmens’ strike and confusing the people.
The employees are eligible for wage revision after every 5 years and the United Forum of Bank Unions have demanded only fully justified rise in wages. It is the Bank Association which is taking an unjustified stand.
If the Finance Minister is sincere for the expansions, why thousands of crores of rupees taken loan by the corporates and big business is being waived as NPA and making huge losses to the Banks? The Government and Banks should have taken strong stand and collected all these big loans and helped the banks for expansion. In the case of common people, the Banks don’t waive loans, but in the case of corporates a soft stand is taken and loans waived. It is only when the employees demand for wage rise, all these grand advices comes from the Ministers and those in power.

Bank Employees 48 Hours strike a Complete Success

11 Tuesday Feb 2014

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Congratulations to the 10 lakh Bank Workers who have gone on a successful 48 hours strike 10-11 February 2014 on the demand of a satisfactory wage revision!
The strike called by the United Forum of Bank Unions, which includes all the major bank Unions, was complete in the Public Sector banks.
The demands of the UFBU are fully justified. Our full support and solidarity to the Bank Employees!