Smriti Irani: 2 PSUs under Ministry of Textiles will be shut down

• There is little scope for the revival of these textile PSUs, said Irani

• The concerns of employees/work force of these organisations will be dealt with as per the guidelines issued by DPE on closure of sick PSUs, the minister said

New Delhi: The government is going to shut down two PSUs under the Ministry of Textiles as they have been making losses for a long time, said Textiles Minister Smriti Zubin Irani on Friday. These two PSUs are British India Corporation Ltd (BICL) and Handicrafts & Handloom Export Corporation of India Limited (HHEC). In a written response submitted in the Lok Sabha on Friday, Irani said that BICL has been incurring losses since its nationalisation in the year 1981.

"Owing to continuance losses, BIC was referred to Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) in 1991 and was declared sick in 1992. The government approved revival schemes in November, 2001, 2005 and 2011 also failed," the minister told the House. She added that HHEC has also been continuously incurring losses for a long time. "… there is little scope for the revival of these PSUs," said Irani.

'Textile PSUs to be shut down; concerns of employees will be dealt with'

Responding to a question on the impact the closing down of these PSUs will have on the workforce, Irani said, "The concerns of employees/work force of these organisations will be dealt with as per the guidelines issued by Department of Public Enterprises on closure of sick/ loss making Central Public Sector Enterprises."

The backdrop

BICL is a PSU that is engaged in the production of textiles for use by civilians and the Indian armed forces. The popular "Lal-imli" and "Dhariwal" brands of woollen products are manufactured by this PSU. The company was set up in 1920 by Sir Alexander MacRobert as a public limited company by combining six of his companies into one entity. The government took over control of the company in 1981. The PSU, which is headquartered in Kanpur, has been making losses since 1989. It operates two woollen mills in Kanpur and Dhariwal (Punjab).

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HHEC, on the other hand, was established in 1958 with the objective of exporting handicrafts, handlooms products, Khadi and products of village industries from India. During Financial year 2017-18, the total turnover of the Corporation was Rs 613.95 crore as compared to Rs 590.14 crore in the previous fiscal. It registered a loss of losses of Rs 22.33 crore in FY2017-18 as compared to Rs 18.38 crore in the previous financial year.

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