HSCL revamp set to come up before Cabinet

The Steel Ministry will take up the long-pending matter of restructuring its behemoth Hindustan Steelworks Construction Limited (HSCL) with the new UPA government. The ministry is planning to finalise the note for the Union Cabinet shortly after completing deliberations with the Planning Commission and the Finance Ministry in this connection.

The issue of reviving HSCL began in the UPAs last term,in which the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) had okayed its revival-cum-restructuring package. Based on the recommendations of the BRPSE,a draft cabinet note was circulated to the concerned ministries. Barring the Planning Commission and the Department of Expenditure,the other ministries concerned have agreed to the proposal. The draft note is expected to be finalised shortly after discussions are concluded with the Plan panel and the department, Steel Ministry sources told The Indian Express.

The BRPSE cleared the Revival-cum-Restructuring Plan proposed by the Steel Ministry wherein the Ministry had sought the writing off of all plan and non-plan loans worth Rs 1,000 crore along with the accrued interest. Besides,the BRPSE has also given its go-ahead on a capital infusion of about Rs 518 crore to enable HSCL repay bank loans,which were taken between 2002 and 2005 for VRS to its employees.

Consultancy firm A F Fergusson and Company,hired by the PSU to suggest measures to revive it,had favoured writing off the loans and infusion of fresh capital to enable it buy latest machinery and recruit fresh personnel.