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Sunday, November 3, 2013

Time to sell off the Nation! কারখানা বন্ধ করতে চেয়ে রাজ্যকে চিঠি দিল জেসপ Diwali shocker!Jessop on the verge of shutdown!Sensex, Nifty hit new highs in Muhurat trade. Chidambaram flagged off divestment mission as UF's finance minister.Chidambaram again sustained the campaign again and over again.Even if Narendra Modi takes over the helm of the nation,Chidambaram would lead the sell off mission.

Time to sell off the Nation!

কারখানা বন্ধ করতে চেয়ে রাজ্যকে চিঠি দিল জেসপ

Diwali shocker!Jessop on the verge of shutdown!Sensex, Nifty hit new highs in Muhurat trade.

Chidambaram flagged off divestment mission as UF's finance minister.Chidambaram again sustained the campaign again and over again.Even if Narendra Modi takes over the helm of the nation,Chidambaram would lead the sell off mission.

Palash Biswas

Pawan K Ruia-controlled Jessop seeks closure, WB government against it.

संवत 2070 की शुरुआत बाजारों ने धमाकेदार की. मुहूर्त ट्रेडिंग के दौरान सेंसेक्स ने 21321 का नया लाइफ हाई बनाया. कारोबार के दौरान निफ्टी 6343 पर पहुंचा, जो सूचकांक से रिकॉर्ड हाई से सिर्फ 14 अंक कम है. हालांकि, स्पेशल ट्रेडिंग के आखिर में बाजार पर थोड़ा दबाव दिखा. सेंसेक्स 42 अंक चढ़कर 21239 और निफ्टी 10 अंक चढ़कर 6317 पर बंद हुए. निफ्टी रिकॉर्ड उच्चतम स्तर पर बंद हुआ. मिडकैप और स्मॉलकैप शेयर 0.7-1.3 फीसदी चढ़े. दिग्गजों में टाटा मोटर्स, जिंदल स्टील, सन फार्मा, मारुति सुजुकी, टाटा पावर, बीएचईएल, टाटा स्टील, हिंडाल्को, ओएनजीसी 1.75-0.75 फीसदी चढ़े.

কালীপুজো এবং দীপাবলিতে আইন ভাঙার অভিযোগ পুলিশ গ্রেফতার করল ৭৫০ জনকে। শব্দবিধি লঙ্ঘনের দায়ে ধৃত ৪০০। অন্য দিকে বাজি পোড়ানো নিয়ে বচসার জেরে প্রাণ খোয়াতে হল এক যুবককে। আবার শব্দবাজির ফাটানোর প্রতিবাদ করায় প্রহৃত এক প্রতিবন্ধী। এখানেই শেষ নয়, শব্দবাজি নিয়েই বচসা এবং তার পর হাতাহাতি হয় দুপক্ষের মধ্যে। ঘটনায় বেশ কয়েকজন আহত হয়েছেন।

ছাত্রীকে গণধর্ষণ করে খুনের রেশ কাটার আগেই ফের এক গৃহবধূকে ধর্ষণ করে খুনের অভিযোগ উঠল বর্ধমানে৷ এ বার ঘটনাস্থল মেমারি৷ ঘটনায় স্থানীয় এক ফার্ম হাউস মালিক-সহ পাঁচজনকে আটক করে জিজ্ঞাসাবাদ করছে পুলিশ৷

আগামী ৫ নভেম্বর (মঙ্গলবার) দুপুর ২টা ৩৮ মিনিটে অন্ধ্রপ্রদেশের শ্রীহরিকোটার উত্‍ক্ষেপণ কেন্দ্র থেকে ৪৫ মিটার লম্বা একটি পিএসএলভি রকেটে করে মঙ্গলগ্রহের উদ্দেশ্যে রওনা দেবে ভারতীয় প্রযুক্তিতে তৈরি 'মঙ্গলযান'৷

Chidambaram flagged off divestment mission as UF's finance minister.Chidambaram again sustained the campaign again and over again.Even if Narendra Modi takes over the helm of the nation,Chidambaram would lead the sell off mission.

जोरदार फसल, निर्यात में सुधार और सोने के आयात में गिरावट से उत्साहित वित्तमंत्री पी चिदंबरम ने शुक्रवार को कहा कि अर्थव्यवस्था में सुधार के लक्षण दिखने लगे हैं और चालू वित्तवर्ष में सरकार राजकोषीय और चालू खाते के घाटे को सीमित रखने की अपनी योजना में कामयाब होगी। चिदंबरम ने संवाददाताओं से बातचीत में हालांकि माना कि महंगाई दर और निवेश के मामले में चुनौती बरकरार है। वित्तमंत्री ने वित्तीय घाटे को जीडीपी का 4.8 प्रतिशत रखने का लक्ष्य रखा है। उन्हें उम्मीद है कि चालू खाते का घाटा भी 60 अरब डॉलर तक सीमित रहेगा।

भारत के 430 करोड़ रुपये के महत्वाकांक्षी मंगल ग्रह अभियान के लिए रविवार सुबह आंध्र प्रदेश स्थित श्रीहरिकोटा राकेट प्रक्षेपण केंद्र पर उलटी गिनती शुरू हो गई। अंतरिक्ष एजेंसी के एक अधिकारी ने यह जानकारी दी। भारतीय अंतरक्षि अनुसंधान संगठन (इसरो) के एक अधिकारी के मुताबिक भारतीय रॉकेट ध्रुवीय उपग्रह प्रक्षेपण यान (पीएसएलवी-सी25) के लिए उलटी गिनती 56.30 घंटे चलेगी और इसका प्रक्षेपण मंगलवार को दोपहर 2.38 बजे होने की उम्मीद है।

Jairam Ramesh did report once upon a time.

On August 20, the Disinvestment Commission that was set up by the United Front (UF) government to recommend what to do with the Central government's shareholding in the public-sector companies it owns and operates completed its initial term of three years. The incoming government will have to decide immediately on the future role of the commission.

P. Chidambaram, the UF's finance minister, was responsible for the appointment of distinguished civil servant G.V. Ramakrishna - "GVR" as he is better known - as the commission's chairman, as well as that of four other members.

Because of his reputation for unimpeachable integrity, his track record of being a strong pro-public sectorwallah and the larger-than-life image he had acquired as chairman of SEBI, GVR commanded respect across the political spectrum.

This weighed most heavily in his automatic choice by a finance minister fully aware that public-sector reform is more a political activity than a technocratic exercise. As it turned out, while GVR maintained excellent relations with the media, trade unions and political leaders, the commission and the government were not always on the best of terms.

Very often Kautilya had to play the peacemaker's role.

The commission has submitted 12 reports so far on 58 public-sector companies. Its most important contribution has been to propagate the concept of "strategic sale". For example the Congress, which is extremely allergic to the very word "privatisation", pledges in its manifesto to implement the recommendations of the commission on strategic sales professionally without delays.

In a strategic sale, the government sells a part or whole of its equity shareholding to one investor who either takes over management control - depending on whether government equity has fallen 50 percent - or who remains a management partner with minority equity in the hope of eventual management control.

In 37 of these 58 companies, the commission has recommended strategic sale. In some cases, the government's shareholding comes down to zero, but in most cases it rests at 26 per cent, the minimum needed under the Companies Act to block a shareholder resolution and, in the commission's view, ensure that the national interest is protected. A minimum of around $5 billion could be raised by the sale of shares in these 37 companies.

Another $2 billion at least would come in by way of new investment by the strategic partner. The process of privatisation of four companies - IPCL, Modern Foods, Bharat Aluminium and Kudremukh Iron Ore - has been initiated. For two more - ITDC and Madras Fertilisers - bids for appointing global advisers have been issued.

There are three other streams of activity that have a bearing on disinvestment. First, 67 loss-making companies have been refer red to the BIFR. The BIFR has recommended winding up of 14 and has sanctioned revival schemes for another 18. Second, the Department of Heavy Industry has initiated the process of finding joint venture partners who will take over or revive the companies under its "control".

Thus, for instance, the Yerraguntla cement plant of the Cement Corporation of India has been sold to a private company and the steel belting division of Andrew Yule has been spun off as a joint venture with a German company holding 74 per cent equity. Efforts are on to find similar partners for HMT's tractor unit and for Scooters India.

Third, there are ad-hoc announcements. Chidambaram's budgets announced disinvestments in companies like IOC, GAIL, MTNL and VSNL, while Yashwant Sinha's 1999 budget proposed the privatisation of Indian Airlines.

Maruti stands as a case apart where the government still holds, needlessly in Kautilya's view, 49.3 per cent equity. The sale of this equity could generate at least another $1 billion.

It should take a new Disinvestment Commission another two years at most to complete the exercise of recommending disinvestment options in the balance of the public enterprise portfolio.

More critical is to bring a sense of coherence and urgency to the implementation process. It has taken over 24 months to get ITDC's privatisation just partially off the ground simply because the concerned ministers and civil servants have been arguing that ITDC is fulfilling a strategic, social purpose.

The sale of HMT's bearings unit to Sundaram Fasteners got tossed around between ministries for almost two years till the private company got fed up and withdrew its offer.

In a new implementation structure, all disinvestment proposals must go to a cabinet committee on disinvestment. Once this committee has decided, the Finance Ministry - and not the administrative ministry - must be given complete and clear responsibility for implementing the disinvestment recommendations.

For its part, the Finance Ministry has to carve out a separate, full-time privatisation task force staffed by market-savvy professionals.

The Disinvestment Commission should be given overall responsibility for managing the disinvestment process, while the responsibility for giving the green signal on the final sale price could still rest with the Cabinet committee.

In addition, to enhance coordination and commonality in approach, all disinvestment proposals must be reviewed by the Disinvestment Commission. Once the commission has made its recommendations, it should not take the government more than eight weeks to get the implementation process going.

(The author is secretary of the AICC's Economic Affairs Department. The views expressed here are his own.)

Diwali shocker!Jessop on the verge of shutdown!Sensex, Nifty hit new highs in Muhurat trade.

For whom the bell tolls?When the markets ended for the week on Friday, to usher Samvat 2070, the Sensex surged to an all time high of 21,196.81 at the close.

The stock indices are showing a strong upturn despite all kinds of economic woes — inflation and inflation expectations are on the higher side, fiscal deficit could slip from its target while the current account deficit may be improving but still remains much above the comfort level of the Reserve Bank of India (RBI).However, the stock market's benchmark index, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) 30-share Sensex surged by 358.73 points to 20, 929.01 on a day (last Tuesday) the RBI hiked the repo rate (the indicative policy rate) by 25 basis points. It is unusual for stock markets to rise when the central bank hikes rates.

And the Diwali shocker right from the heart of Kolkata.

Public sector Jessop was sold off for almost nothing in accordance with the disinvestment ritual performance of scientific killing.

Ruia seeks Jessop closure, state baulks

OUR SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT

Calcutta, Nov. 2: The Calcutta-based Ruia Group has sought the Bengal government's approval to close wagon maker Jessop & Co in the wake of continuous losses because of deteriorating law and order situation and non co-operation by workers.

In a letter to labour minister Purnendu Bose on November 1, Pawan K Ruia, owner of the group, shared his decision to close the firm from November 15. A copy of the letter has been sent to chief minister Mamata Banerjee as well.

The letter referred to a tripartite meeting where the Jessop management's plea for productivity-linked wage was turned down by Jessop union representatives in the presence of the labour minister.

Ruia was not available for comment.

Labour minister Purnendu Bose said the management had proposed cutting the workforce by half and freezing dearness allowance.

"No government can accept such proposals. The unions also rejected them. I asked the management to come up with new ideas. And look what they have done," Bose told The Telegraph today.

The minister said the government would formally respond after receiving the letter. "The union people told me that a copy of the letter has been posted on the gate of Jessop's unit on Jessore Road. If the owner does not invest in the firm, how will it run," he said.

The Ruia group, however, said Rs 50 crore had been invested since July 2012, taking the total investment to Rs 200 crore after taking control of the firm in 2003.

The unit is spread over 71 acres on Calcutta's northern fringes, which is witnessing a property boom of late. The plant has 600 permanent workers on the rolls. According to sources in the management, they get an average salary of Rs 14,000 a month, highest among all wagon makers located in Bengal.

Ruia initially proposed that their salary be linked to productivity and set a production target of four roadrollers and one railway coach a month, apparently one-tenth of what Jessop can potentially produce.

The management said it would guarantee product order, working capital and supply of raw materials to produce at this rate. If it failed to do so, workers would not be penalised for low productivity.

However, unions rejected the plan. Then the management came up with a plan to retrench 300 people while continuing with the rest at the existing salary without any productivity-linked pay. But it declined to provide any additional severance package except usual statutory dues. The unions rejected this too.

The minister said Ruia could not close a factory with a 15-day notice. Under the Industrial Dispute Act, 60 days notice has to be given before closure. Moreover, all the dues of the workers, including leave encashment, dearness allowance, provident fund and gratuity, had to be cleared.

"Once I get the letter, I will invite the company top brass for a meeting and come up with an alternative proposal. Problem is, they don't ever send board level people. If the minister is presiding, the owner should come. But as we have seen in Dunlop, that never happens," Bose said.

Dunlop's Sahagunj unit in Hooghly is under suspension of work as the Ruia firm is battling a winding up petition at the Supreme Court. There is a possibility that Bengal may take the legal route to prevent Jessop closure which may become a political hot potato ahead of general elections.

http://www.telegraphindia.com/1131103/jsp/business/story_17525916.jsp#.Unal73BHLIc

জেসপও বন্ধ করার পথে রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী

কৌশিক প্রধান

ডানলপের হাল হতে চলেছে জেসপেরও৷ পবন রুইয়া গোষ্ঠীর মালিকানাধীন ডানলপের সাহাগঞ্জ কারখানা গত দু'বছর সম্পূর্ণ বন্ধ৷ আগামী ১৫ নভেম্বর থেকে ২২৫ বছরের পুরোনো দমদমের জেসপ কারখানাতেও তালা ঝোলাতে চলেছে রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী৷ মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায় রাজ্যে শিল্প আনতে যখন শিল্পপতিদের সঙ্গে ঘনঘন বৈঠক করছেন, তখন জেসপের কারখানা বন্ধ করার জন্য মালিকপক্ষকে উত্‍সাহ দেওয়ার অভিযোগ উঠেছে খোদ শ্রমমন্ত্রী পূর্ণেন্দু বসুর বিরুদ্ধে৷ আইএনটিটিইউসি-র তরফে পূর্ণেন্দুবাবুই জেসপে তৃণমূল কংগ্রেসের শ্রমিক সংগঠনের দায়িত্বে৷

কারখানার গেটে ইতিমধ্যেই 'সাসপেনশন অফ ওয়ার্কস'-এর নোটিস ঝোলানো হয়েছে৷ পাশাপাশি, এই মর্মে রাজ্য সরকারের অনুমোদন চেয়ে গত ৩১ অক্টোবর শ্রমমন্ত্রী পূর্ণেন্দু বসুকে রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী চিঠি পাঠিয়েছে৷ চিঠিতে জানানো হয়েছে, শ্রমিকদের কাজভিত্তিক বেতন চালু করা বা ৫০ শতাংশ শ্রমিক ছাঁটাই করার অনুমোদন সরকার না-দিলে ১৫ নভেম্বর থেকে কারখানা বন্ধ করে দেওয়া হবে৷ চিঠিতে শ্রমমন্ত্রীকে এ-ও জানানো হয়েছে, 'শ্রমিকদের সমস্ত পাওনাগন্ডা মিটিয়ে কারখানা বন্ধ করে দেওয়ার যে প্রস্তাব আপনি দিয়েছেন, তাকে সম্মান জানিয়ে আমরা এই সিদ্ধান্ত নিয়েছি৷' জেসপ বন্ধ করার সিদ্ধান্তের বিরুদ্ধে পূর্ণেন্দুবাবুর বিরুদ্ধে সরাসরি অভিযোগ এনে সিটুর উত্তর ২৪ পরগনা জেলা সম্পাদক সুভাষ মুখোপাধ্যায় বলেন, 'শেষ ত্রিপাক্ষিক বৈঠকে মন্ত্রীই মালিকপক্ষকে প্রস্তাব দিয়েছিলেন পাওয়াগন্ডা মিটিয়ে কারখানা বন্ধ করে দেওয়ার জন্য৷ সেই প্রস্তাব অনুযায়ীই ওঁরা কারখানা বন্ধ করার নোটিস দিয়েছেন৷ এতে ওঁদের দোষ কোথায়? কারখানা বন্ধ করার জন্য তো সরকার কাজ করছে৷'

অভিযোগ অস্বীকার করছেন না পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু৷ তাঁর যুক্তি, 'আমি বলেছিলাম এটা ঠিক৷ কারণ, শিল্পবিরোধ আইনানুযায়ী, কারখানা খোলা ও বন্ধ করা মালিকের অধিকার৷ তবে বন্ধ করার ৬০ দিন আগে নোটিস দিতে হয়৷ ওঁরা ১৫ দিন আগে নোটিস দিয়ে বেআইনি কাজ করেছেন৷ ওঁরা ডানলপের পথে জেসপকেও নিয়ে যেতে চান৷ তবে আমরা চাই কারখানা চলুক৷ তাই ফের মালিক ও শ্রমিকপক্ষকে বৈঠকে ডাকছি৷'

রুইয়া গোষ্ঠীর এক মুখপাত্র অবশ্য জানিয়েছেন, শ্রমিকদের কাজভিত্তিক বেতন চালু করা বা ৫০ শতাংশ শ্রমিক ছাঁটাই করার অনুমোদন দেওয়া না-হলে তাঁদের পক্ষে কারখানা খুলে রাখা সম্ভব নয়৷ কেন? এর উত্তরে তিনি বলেন, 'কারখানায় ৬০০-র বেশি শ্রমিক থাকলেও বিগত কয়েক বছর ধরে তাঁদের কার্যত বসিয়ে মাইনে দিতে হচ্ছে৷ ঠিকাদারের মাধ্যমে লোক নিয়োগ করে কাজ তুলতে হয়৷ কিন্ত্ত, এতে উত্‍পাদন খরচ বেড়ে যাওয়াতে প্রতিযোগিতার বাজারে আমরা পিছিয়ে পড়ছি৷ বিপুল লোকসান করে কারখানা চালিয়ে যাওয়া সম্ভব নয়৷' যদিও ২০১০-১১ ও ২০১১-১২ সালে জেসপ যথাক্রমে ২৪ কোটি ও ২৭ লক্ষ টাকা নিট মুনাফা করেছিল৷ বর্তমানে কারখানার শ্রমিকদের দু-তিন মাসের বেতন বকেয়া রয়েছে৷

জেসপের গোড়াপত্তন ১৭৮৮ সালে৷ পলাশির যুদ্ধের ৩১ বছর পর৷ তখন এর নাম ছিল ব্রিন অ্যান্ড কোম্পানি৷ ১৮২০ সালে দুই ভাই হেনরি ও জর্জ জেসপ কারখানাটি কিনে নেন৷ ১৯৭৩ সালে কেন্দ্রীয় সরকার এই ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং সংস্থাটি অধিগ্রহণ করে৷ ২০০৩ সালে মাত্র ১৮ কোটি টাকায় কেন্দ্রীয় রাষ্ট্রায়ত্ত রুগ্ণ সংস্থা জেসপের ৭২ শতাংশ শেয়ার কিনে নেয় রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী৷ বর্তমানে সংস্থার প্রায় ৯০ শতাংশ শেয়ার রুইয়া গোষ্ঠীর হাতে৷ বাকি শেয়ার রয়েছে কেন্দ্রীয় সরকারি সংস্থা ভারত ভারী উদ্যোগ নিগমের হাতে৷ কিনে নেওয়ার পর থেকেই কারখানার শ্রমিকদের বসিয়ে মাইনে দিয়ে ঠিকা শ্রমিকের মাধ্যমে রেলের ওয়াগন, কোচ, ক্রেন প্রভৃতি নির্মাণ করতেন মালিকপক্ষ৷ সেই সময়ে কারখানার শ্রমিক সংগঠনগুলি এর বিরুদ্ধে আন্দোলন করলেও পূর্বতন বাম সরকার তাতে সে ভাবে গুরুত্ব দেয়নি৷ কারণ, লাভের মুখ দেখছিল জেসপ৷ এমনকি পুরকর, বিদ্যুত্‍ শুল্ক প্রভৃতি খাতে নানা ছাড়ও জেসপকে দেওয়া হয়েছিল৷ কিন্ত্ত, বিগত দু'বছর ধরে রেলের কাছ থেকে কাজের তেমন বরাত না-আসায় সমস্যা শুরু হয়৷

মাস চারেক আগে জেসপ নিয়ে ত্রিপাক্ষিক বৈঠক করেন শ্রমমন্ত্রী৷ সেখানে সরকারের তরফে মালিকপক্ষকে কারখানা বাঁচানোর জন্য পরিকল্পনা জমা দিতে বলা হয়৷ পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু বলেন, 'গত ৩০ অক্টোবর আবার ত্রিপাক্ষিক বৈঠক করি৷ সেখানে মালিকপক্ষ জানান, শ্রমিকদের কাজভিত্তিক বেতন চালু করা বা ৫০ শতাংশ শ্রমিক ছাঁটাই করার অনুমোদন সরকার না-দিলে তাঁরা সাসপেনশন অফ ওয়ার্কের নোটিশ ঝোলাতে বাধ্য হবেন৷ কিন্ত্ত, কাজভিত্তিক বেতন চালু বা শ্রমিক ছাঁটাইয়ের প্রস্তাব যেহেতু শ্রমিক স্বার্থবিরোধী, তাই আমরা সেই প্রস্তাবে অনুমোদন দিইনি৷ আমি মালিকপক্ষকে বলি, আপনারা ভাবুন৷ এর মধ্যে শুনলাম ওঁরা কারখানা বন্ধ করার নোটিস ঝুলিয়েছেন৷ তবে সরকারের অনুমোদন ছাড়া ওঁরা কারখানা বন্ধ করতে পারেন না৷' কারখানা বন্ধ করে দিলে মালিকপক্ষের বিরুদ্ধে আইনি ব্যবস্থা নেওয়ারও হুমকি তিনি দিয়েছেন৷ কিন্ত্ত, কী ব্যবস্থা নিতে পারে সরকার, তা পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু খোলসা করেননি৷ মুখ খোলেননি রুইয়া গোষ্ঠীর মুখপাত্রও৷

ছাবারিয়া গোষ্ঠীর কাছ থেকে ডানলপ কিনেছিল রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী৷ তার পর থেকে দু-তিন বার যন্ত্রপাতি রক্ষণাবেক্ষণের জন্য সাহাগঞ্জের কারখানার গেট খোলা হলেও, কখনও উত্‍পাদন চালু হয়নি৷ পুলিশ-প্রশাসনের নিষ্ক্রিয়তার কারণে কারখানা চত্বর থেকে মালপত্র চুরি যাওয়ার অভিযোগ তুলে ২০১১-র অক্টোবর থেকে সাহাগঞ্জ কারখানা সম্পূর্ণ বন্ধ রেখেছে রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী৷ একই পরিণতি হতে চলেছে জেসপেরও৷

http://eisamay.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/jessop-going-to-be-shut-down/articleshow/25140039.cms

বাতিলের খাতায় মমতার মেট্রো প্রকল্প

গৌতম গুপ্ত

মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়-সহ তৃণমূলের তিন রেলমন্ত্রীর আমলে কলকাতা ও আশপাশে যে ১৪টি মেট্রো রেল-প্রকল্পের সমীক্ষার নির্দেশ হয়েছিল, তার মধ্যে চারটিকে ইতিমধ্যেই 'নট ফিজিবল' (বাস্তবায়ন সম্ভব নয়) বলে রায় দিয়েছে রেলবোর্ড৷ আরও ১০টি প্রকল্পেরও একই পরিণতি হতে চলেছে বলে রেল-মহলের জল্পনা৷ যে চারটি প্রকল্প ইতিমধ্যেই বাতিলের তালিকায় চলে গিয়েছে, সেগুলি হল--ব্যারাকপুর-কল্যাণী, মধ্যমগ্রাম-ব্যারাকপুর, সাঁতরাগাছি-শালিমার-চন্দননগর এবং হাওড়া-বেলুড়৷ আর বাতিলের অপেক্ষায়--জোকা-উত্তমকুমার, জোকা-ডায়মন্ড হারবার, বারুইপুুর-কবি সুভাষ, বসিরহাট-কবি সুভাষ, ডানকুনি-ধুলাগড়, ডানকুনি-শ্রীরামপুর, হাওড়া ময়দান-ডানকুনি, বজবজ-রুবি হাসপাতাল, কলকাতা স্টেশন-করুণাময়ী এবং বারাসত-ব্যারাকপুর৷ একের পর এক প্রকল্প বাতিলের ধাক্কায় হাতছাড়া হতে চলেছে বিপুল অর্থ, যা রাজ্যের বিকাশে বড় ভূমিকা নিতে পারত৷

রেলকর্তারা এই পরিণতিতে অবশ্য একটুও অবাক হচ্ছেন না৷ কেননা, অত্যন্ত ঘনবসতিপূর্ণ এলাকার মধ্যে দিয়ে নতুন মেট্রো রুটের ভাবনা যে একেবারেই বাস্তবোচিত নয়, গোড়া থেকেই তাঁরা তা বলে আসছিলেন৷ যে-সব এলাকায় এখন শহরতলির ট্রেন চলাচল করে, সেখানে বা তার কাছাকাছি মেট্রো-নির্মাণ সারা পৃথিবীতেই মেট্রো প্রকল্পের ভাবনার বিরোধী৷ সাধারণ রেল নির্মাণের তুলনায় মেট্রো-নির্মাণ ঢের বেশি ব্যয়সাপেক্ষও৷ যেখানে অন্য বিকল্প সম্ভব নয়, সেখানেই একমাত্র মেট্রো অগ্রাধিকার পেয়ে থাকে৷

রেলকর্তাদের আশঙ্কা, শেষ পর্যন্ত পরিত্যক্ত হতে পারে তিন বছর আগেও রেল বাজেটে অর্থ মঞ্জুর হওয়া নোয়াপাড়া-ব্যারাকপুর রুটে ১৫ কিলোমিটার দীর্ঘ ২,০৭০ কোটি টাকার প্রকল্পটিও৷ কেননা, বিটি রোড বরাবর এই মেট্রোপথ নির্মাণ করতে হলে বিপন্ন হবে সড়কটির নীচ দিয়ে যাওয়া কলকাতা পুরসভার পলতা থেকে টালা পর্যন্ত জলের ৬টি পাইপলাইন৷

কেন বাতিল হচ্ছে প্রকল্পগুলি? অভিযোগ, প্রকল্প মঞ্জুরের আগে যে ভাবে সম্ভাব্য রুটের সমীক্ষা করা রীতি, তা মানা হয়নি তৃণমূল রেলমন্ত্রীদের আমলে মঞ্জুর হওয়া কলকাতা ও শহরতলি এলাকার মেট্রো সম্প্রসারণ প্রকল্পে৷ বড় প্রকল্প হাতে নিতে গেলে প্রথমেই একটা 'প্রি-ফিজিবিলিটি স্টাডি' করতে হয়৷ সে সমীক্ষা আশাব্যঞ্জক হলে ব্যবস্থা হয় 'প্রি-ফিজিবিলিটি রিপোর্টে'র৷ সেই রিপোর্ট যদি অনুকূল হয়, তখনই কেবল রেলবোর্ড বাজেটে মঞ্জুরির সুপারিশ করে৷ প্রকল্পের ব্যয় ১০০ কোটি টাকার বেশি হলে বাজেট বরাদ্দের জন্য সংসদে পেশ করার আগে যোজনা কমিশনেরও সম্মতি দরকার হয়৷

কিন্ত্ত রেলে তৃণমূল মন্ত্রীদের জমানায় যে ভাবে 'ফিজিবিলিটি রিপোর্ট' লেখা হয়েছে, তাকে 'হাস্যকর' এবং 'দায়িত্বজ্ঞানহীন' বলে মন্তব্য করছেন শীর্ষ রেলকর্তারাই৷ মন্ত্রীরা বলে দিতেন, তাঁরা কী চান৷ সেটা বুঝে নিয়েই দু'চার দিনের মধ্যে তৈরি হত প্রকল্প-রিপোর্ট৷ পরে রেলকর্তারা বলেছেন, তাঁরা স্বাধীনভাবে সমীক্ষার সুযোগ পেলে প্রকল্পগুলির বেশ কিছু অদলবদল সম্ভব হত৷ বিশেষত, আজ যে ভাবে প্রতিটি প্রকল্পই মাঝপথে আটকে যাচ্ছে, তেমন জটিলতার সম্ভাবনা সমীক্ষার স্তরেই বুঝে নিয়ে অদলবদল করা যেত৷ কোথা দিয়ে মেট্রো চলা দরকার, কোথা দিয়ে সাধারণ রেল--সেটা বলে দিতে পারেন বিশেষজ্ঞরাই৷ কিন্ত্ত এক সময়ে গুরুত্ব পেয়েছে শুধুই রাজনৈতিক খামখেয়াল৷ যে মুহূর্তে তৃণমূল ইউপিএ সরকার ছেড়েছে, তার পরেই সমীক্ষারও সুরবদল হয়েছে৷ বোর্ড থেকে সমীক্ষক সংস্থা 'রাইটস'-কে ইঙ্গিত দেওয়া হয়, মঞ্জুর-হওয়া প্রকল্পগুলির অর্থ জোগানোই শক্ত৷ অন্য প্রকল্পের ভাবনা অবাস্তব৷

নির্মীয়মাণ বা প্রস্তাবিত মেট্রো পথগুলির বৈশিষ্ট্য হল, এগুলি প্রায় সবই উত্তর-দক্ষিণের রুটে৷ পূর্ব-পশ্চিম রুটে রয়েছে একমাত্র সল্টলেক-হাওড়া ময়দান প্রকল্পটি৷ সেটি আবার বর্তমান রাজ্য সরকারের মতবদলের কারণেই বিপন্ন৷ কলকাতা কিন্ত্ত আর আগেকার মতো কেবল উত্তর-দক্ষিণে বিস্তৃত হচ্ছে না৷ রেলকর্তারা বলছেন, সামগ্রিক ভাবে শহরের পরিবহণ-প্রয়োজন বিচার করেই মেট্রো সম্প্রসারণের রুট স্থির করার ক্ষেত্রে বিশেষজ্ঞদের উপর দায়িত্ব দেওয়া বাঞ্ছনীয় ছিল৷

http://eisamay.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/mamatas-metro-plan-are-cancelled/articleshow/25175555.cms?

Jessop & Company

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Type	Private
Industry	civil engineering
Founded	1788
Headquarters	Kolkata, India
Area served	India
Key people	Pawan K. Ruia, Chairman of Ruia Group
Products	wagons, cranes, road construction equipment, engineering procurement construction services
Owner(s)	Ruia Group
Website	www.jessop.co.in

Jessop & Company Limited is a privately owned engineering company based at Kolkata, India.[1] It is part of Ruia group of conglomerate, which also owns Dunlop India and Falcon Tyres as well textile business.[2]

[hide]

History[edit]

Jessop & Company Limited is India's oldest engineering company, established in 1788.[3]

The history of Jessop & Co. Ltd goes back to year 1788 when Breen & Company was founded in Calcutta. In 1820, Henry and George, sons of William Jessop acquired Breen & Company on behalf of Butterley Company, which was established by William Jessop in Derbyshire. These two companies were merged in 1820 to be renamed as Jessop & Company.[1][4] The company, during British Raj was a large engineering giant having its head office at 63, Netaji Subhas Road, Kolkata and large manufacturing facilities spread over 63 acres at Dum Dum [5]

The management of company was taken over by Government of India in 1958 and subsequently in 1973, the company was wholly taken over by the Government of India and Jessop became public sector undertaking. In 1986, with the formation of Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam(BBUNL), a public sector holding company under administrative control of two government ministries, Department of Heavy Industry andMinistry of Industry, Jessop became a subsidiary of the holding company.[1][6]

Achievements[edit]

Jessop & Co Limited is accredited to have built the first iron bridge in British India over River Gomti, popularly known as Loha-ka-Pul atLucknow built during year 1815-1840. It was ordered by Nawab of Oudh [3][5][7] Jessop's has also built one steam locomotive, delivered to the Nawab of Oudh in the 19th century[4]

The first steam boat to sail on Indian waters made in India was made by Jessop & Co. in 1819.[8] In 1890 it rolled out the first steam road roller for India.[8] It was also one of the pioneers to make heavy duty cranes.

It was part of the team that built Parliament House [9] during year 1921-27 in New Delhi.

In 1930 it formed a partnership company with Braithwaite & Co. Ltd., Burn & Company to form company named Braithwaite, Burn & Jessop Construction Company, for construction of first semi balance cantilever bridge of India, the Howrah Bridge,[5][8][9][10] the construction of which began in 1936 and completed in 1942. The same company Braithwate, Burn & Jessop also won contract for construction of Vidyasagar Setu in 1972 completed in 1993, first Cable-stayed bridge bridge in India.[8]

Further, in 1959, it manufactured the first Electrical Multiple Unit coach for Indian Railways.[8][9] In 1956 it supplied radial gate forNagarjuna Sagar Dam later on in 1976 it again pioneered for manufacturing Caisson gates for Haldia Dock Project, first time in India.[8]

New cars used by the Kolkata tram system was delivered by Jessop in 2012.

Present status[edit]

The company's net worth eroded over the years and losses mounted into several hundred crores of rupees, as a public sector company. In 2003 Government of India, divested its stake in Jessop & Co. Ltd under privatization programme and sold its 72% stake to Ruia group owned by Pawan Kumar Ruia, who turned it into a profit making entity.[9][11] The sale of government share was objected to by staff but High Court later cleared the deal.[12]

The huge building and company head quarter since 1788 in heart of city near B. B. D. Bagh at 63, Netaji Subhas Road [13] was, however, taken over by Government of West Bengal as the company did not have funds to pay its dues to the state. The company now operates from its works at 1, Jessore Road, Dum Dum, Kolkata.

Today, Jessop manufactures railway coaches and wagons, cranes, road rollers and hydraulic equipment.[5] It is the only company in Asia which has an integrated test facility for testing power roof support and Hydraulic items.[4][5]

References[edit]

^ Jump up to:a b c [1]
Jump up^ [2]
^ Jump up to:a b [3] Encyclopaedia of Indian Events & Dates By S. B. Bhattacherje
^ Jump up to:a b c [4]
^ Jump up to:a b c d e [5]
Jump up^ [6] Public enterprises survey, Volume 2 by Govt. of India, Ministry of Finance, Bureau of Public Enterprises, 01-Jan-1994
Jump up^ [7] Limca book of records by Bisleri Beverages Ltd., 1990
^ Jump up to:a b c d e f [8]
^ Jump up to:a b c d JESSOP: Rebuilding History India Today, October 15, 2009.
Jump up^ [9] Public enterprises survey, Volume 2 by Govt. of India, Ministry of Finance, Bureau of Public Enterprises, 01-Jan-1994
Jump up^ How Ruia turned Jessop around
Jump up^ [10] HC clears Jessop sale to Ruia Cotex, July 9, 2003
Jump up^ The Times of India directory and year book including who's who by INFA Publications, 2004 - History

সন্ধে ৭টা, নজরদারিকে তুড়ি

মেরে শুরু হল শব্দের তাণ্ডব

নিজস্ব সংবাদদাতা • কলকাতা

*লালবাজার কন্ট্রোল রুমের অফিসার তাজ্জব। শনিবার তখন সন্ধে সাড়ে ৬টা। "অন্যান্য বার কালীপুজোর সন্ধ্যায় এই সময়ের মধ্যে শব্দবাজি নিয়ে অন্তত চল্লিশটা অভিযোগ এসে যায়। অথচ এ বার কসবার মন্দিরপাড়া, যোগেন্দ্র গার্ডেন ও টেগোর পার্ক, গোলপার্কের কাছে কেয়াতলা রোড আর উত্তরে বাগবাজার ছাড়া শব্দবাজির অভিযোগ এখনও পর্যন্ত পাইনি," বললেন ওই অফিসার। কিন্তু তাঁর সিনিয়র ইন্সপেক্টর সন্দিহান, "এত আগে নিশ্চিন্ত হয়ে লাভ নেই। একটু দাঁড়ান। শহর জুড়ে শব্দবাজি ফাটা শুরু হল বলে!" আর হলও ঠিক তা-ই। ঘড়ির কাঁটা সন্ধে সাতটা ছুঁতে না ছুঁতেই শব্দবাজির প্রবল প্রতাপ শুরু হল শহর জুড়ে ও তার আশপাশে। রাজ্য দূষণ নিয়ন্ত্রণ পর্ষদের যে ২৬টি দল শনিবার বিকেল ৫টা থেকে শহরে ঘুরছিল, তার মধ্যে একটি দলকে পাওয়া গেল তারাতলার কাছে। ওই জায়গায় পর্ষদের কর্মীরা একটু জল খেতে নেমেছিলেন। সন্ধে সওয়া সাতটা।সবিস্তার...

কলকাতায় আজ থেকে সচিনপক্ষ

গৌতম ভট্টাচার্য • কলকাতা

*রোববার রাত্তিরে শহরে ঢুকে সচিন তেন্ডুলকর আবিষ্কার করবেন ভারতীয় ক্রিকেটের তরুণ ব্রিগেড যতই রাঙিয়ে দিক দীপাবলির সন্ধে, দেশটা এখনও তাঁর। অন্তত কলকাতা নামক শহরটা তো বটেই। সাধারণত টেস্ট ম্যাচ শুরুর দু'দিন আগে সকালের বিমান ধরে শহরে পৌঁছন সচিন। দলের অনুশীলন থাকে দুপুরে। ফলে সকালের বিমানে এলে কোনও সমস্যা হয় না। কিন্তু ইডেনে এ বার তাঁর শেষ টেস্ট খেলতে নামার তিন দিন আগে শহরে পৌঁছবেন তিনি। মুম্বইয়ের বাড়িতে দীপাবলি পালনের শৌখিনতাও এখন দেখাচ্ছেন না সচিন। এই শহরে পা দিয়েই অবশ্য তিনি আবিষ্কার করবেন, স্টেডিয়াম একই, সেই পরিচিত ইডেন। কিন্তু শহরটা আরও উষ্ণ হয়ে পড়েছে। সবিস্তার...

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নিজস্ব সংবাদদাতা • কলকাতা

জেসপ কারখানা বন্ধ করে দেওয়ার জন্য রাজ্য সরকারের কাছে অনুমতি চাইলেন সংস্থা কর্তৃপক্ষ। আগামী ১৫ নভেম্বর থেকে কারখানা বন্ধ করে দিতে চান তাঁরা। এই মর্মে গত ৩১ অক্টোবর রাজ্যের শ্রমমন্ত্রী পূর্ণেন্দু বসুকে একটি চিঠি পাঠানো হয়েছে সংস্থার তরফে। মুখ্যমন্ত্রী মমতা বন্দ্যোপাধ্যায়কেও চিঠির প্রতিলিপি পাঠানো হয়েছে। এর ফলে সংস্থার ৬৫০ কর্মীর ভবিষ্যৎ অনিশ্চিত হয়ে পড়ার মুখে।

তবে রাজ্য সরকার জেসপ বন্ধের অনুমতি দেবে না বলেই জানিয়েছেন পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু। শনিবার তিনি বলেন, "২ নভেম্বর পর্যন্ত ওই চিঠি রাজ্য শ্রম দফতরে পৌঁছয়নি। কোনও সংস্থা বন্ধ করতে হলে কমপক্ষে ৬০ দিনের নোটিস দিতে হয়। তা ছাড়া কর্মীদের বকেয়াও মেটাতে হবে কর্তৃপক্ষকে। পাশাপাশি মেটাতে হবে কর ইত্যাদি বাবদ রাজ্য সরকারের পাওনা। প্রভিডেন্ট ফান্ড এবং ইএসআই বাবদ বহু কোটি টাকা বকেয়া রেখেছেন জেসপ কর্তৃপক্ষ। এ ছাড়া ব্যাঙ্ক এবং অন্য পাওনাদারদের বকেয়া তো রয়েছেই।" একই সঙ্গে পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু বলেন, "আমি চাই জেসপ চালু থাকুক। শান্তিপূর্ণ ভাবে শ্রমবিরোধ মেটানোর ব্যবস্থা করা হোক।"

দু'শো বছরেরও বেশি পুরনো জেসপ সংস্থা বন্ধ করার কথা কেন ভাবছেন কর্তৃপক্ষ?

এ দিন সংস্থার তরফে জানানো হয়, "জেসপের দমদম কারখানায় চূড়ান্ত অরাজকতা চলছে। অফিসারদের মারধোর করার একাধিক ঘটনা ঘটেছে। পুলিশ বা প্রশাসনের কাছে আবেদন করেও কোনও সুরাহা হয়নি। কারখানার উৎপাদন তলানিতে গিয়ে ঠেকেছে। এর ফলে চূড়ান্ত আর্থিক ক্ষতির সম্মুখীন হতে হচ্ছে সংস্থাকে। এই অবস্থায় কারখানা চালানো সম্ভব নয়।"

কর্তৃপক্ষের এই অভিযোগ অবশ্য মানতে নারাজ কারখানার ইউনিয়ন। বিশেষ করে অফিসারদের মারধোর করার অভিযোগ উড়িয়ে কারখানার তৃণমূল ট্রেড ইউনিয়ন অনুমোদিত জেসপ ওয়ার্কার্স অ্যান্ড এমপ্লয়িজ ইউনিয়নের সহ-সভাপতি শ্যামল রক্ষিত বলেন, "গত তিন মাস ধরে সাব-স্টাফদের বেতন দেওয়া হয়নি। কারখানার কর্মীরা গত দু'মাসের বেতন পাননি। বেশ কয়েক বছর আমরা বোনাসও পাইনি। তা ছাড়া যাঁরা অবসর নিয়েছেন, তাঁদের বকেয়াও মেটাননি কর্তৃপক্ষ। সম্প্রতি কিছু কর্মীকে অন্য রাজ্যে বদলি করে দেওয়া হয়েছে। আমরা মনে করি, এটা শাস্তিমূলক বদলি। কারণ যেখানে বদলি করা হয়েছে, সেখানে কোনও কাজ নেই।" শ্রমিকরা কাজ করেন না বলে সংস্থার তরফে যে অভিযোগ করা হয়েছে, তা-ও মানতে নারাজ ইউনিয়ন। শ্যামলবাবুর অভিযোগ, "কারখানায় উৎপাদন চালু রাখার ইচ্ছাই কর্তৃপক্ষের নেই। মেশিনপত্র রক্ষণাবেক্ষণ করা হয় না। উৎপাদনের জন্য কাঁচামালও দেওয়া হয় না।"

জেসপে উৎপাদন বাড়ানোর জন্য উৎপাদন ভিত্তিক বেতন চালু করার প্রস্তাব দিয়েছিলেন কর্তৃপক্ষ। কিন্তু ইউনিয়ন তা মানতে চায়নি। এই অবস্থায় গত ২৪ অক্টোবর শ্রমিক ইউনিয়নের সঙ্গে এবং ৩০ অক্টোবর ত্রিপাক্ষিক বৈঠকে বসেন শ্রমমন্ত্রী। এ দিন পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু বলেন, "জেসপ কর্তৃপক্ষ উৎপাদন ভিত্তিক বেতন অথবা ৫০ শতাংশ কর্মী ছাঁটাইয়ের প্রস্তাব দিয়েছিলেন। তাঁদের আরও প্রস্তাব ছিল, মহার্ঘ ভাতা বৃদ্ধি না করার। আমার পক্ষে ওই প্রস্তাবগুলি মানা সম্ভব হয়নি। তা ছাড়া বৈঠকে জেসপের পক্ষে এমন কেউ আসেননি, যাঁর সিদ্ধান্ত নেওয়ার ক্ষমতা রয়েছে। আমি বলেছিলাম, বিরোধের মীমাংসা করার জন্য সংস্থার ডিরেক্টর স্তরের কেউ এসে আমার সঙ্গে আলোচনা করুন। কিন্তু তার পরিবর্তে কারখানা গুটিয়ে নেওয়ার অনুমতি চেয়ে চিঠি দিয়েছেন জেসপ কর্তৃপক্ষ!"

ওয়াগন তৈরির রাষ্ট্রায়ত্ত সংস্থা জেস প ৮০-র দশকের শেষ দিক থেকে ধীরে ধীরে রুগ্ণ হয়ে পড়তে থাকে। পরবর্তী সময়ে সংস্থাকে বিআইএফআরে পাঠানো হয়। ২০০৩ সালের মাঝামাঝি সংস্থাটি হাতে নেয় পবন রুইয়া গোষ্ঠী। শনিবার জেসপের এক উচ্চপদস্থ কর্তা বলেন, "জেসপ হাতে নেওয়ার পর আমরা এ পর্যন্ত ২০০ কোটি টাকারও বেশি লগ্নি করেছি। গত এক বছরেই ৫০ কোটি টাকা লগ্নি করা হয়েছে। প্রতি মাসে বেতন বাবদ দিতে হয় প্রায় ২ কোটি টাকা। ইঞ্জিনিয়ারিং শিল্পে আমরা যে বেতন দিই, তা প্রথম সারির সংস্থাগুলিতেই দেওয়া হয়। আমাদের বরাতের অভাব নেই। টাকাও লগ্নি করতে আমরা ইচ্ছুক। কিন্তু অফিসারদের মারধোর করা হলে এবং উৎপাদন ঠিক মতো না হলে কারখানা চালানো আমাদের পক্ষে সম্ভব নয়।"

তবে জেসপ এখনই বন্ধ হবে কি না, তা নিয়ে সংশয় রয়েছে। কারণ রাজ্য ওই অনুমতি দিতে রাজি হবে না বলেই সরকারি সূত্রের খবর। সে ক্ষেত্রে কর্তৃপক্ষ 'সাসপেনশন অব ওয়ার্ক' ঘোষণা করতে পারেন বলে আশঙ্কা রয়েছে কর্মীদের একাংশের মধ্যে। পূর্ণেন্দুবাবু জানান, জেসপ কর্তৃপক্ষের চিঠি হাতে এলেই তিনি ফের সংস্থাটির কর্তাদের আলোচনার জন্য ডেকে পাঠাবেন। একই সঙ্গে কারখানা চালু রাখতে ইউনিয়নের সঙ্গেও আলোচনায় বসবেন।

http://www.anandabazar.com/3bus1.html

Here you are! It would be the fate of all the disinvested units and it is predestined for all those yet to be disinvested including ONGC, OIC, LIC, SBI, CIL and all the One hundred eighty four companies on disinvestment road map.

Disinvestment in India is a politically sensitive issue, often mired in controversy and has vacillated between extremes of vigorous pursuit to dormant status, as a priority area of economic reforms.

Jagannadham Thunuguntla, co-chairman, Assocham Capital Market Council, addressing a press conference after releasing a study on 'PSU Divestment: FAQ on listing of PSUs', in New Delhi on Monday. — Kamal Narang

NEW DELHI, JULY 15:

Volatility in stock markets should not deter the Government from going ahead aggressively with its divestment programme, industry body Assocham has said.

The Government would do well to focus attention on bringing follow-on share offers of large blue-chip public sector companies such as Coal India, Indian Oil and BHEL to achieve the divestment target of Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal, Assocham President Rajkumar Dhoot said at a press conference on Monday.

OUTFLOW FROM DEBT

This would be a better strategy than trying to do divestments in several mid-size public sector companies that may fetch about Rs 400-1,000 crore for each transaction, according to Jagannadham Thunuguntla, co-Chairman of Assocham's Capital Market Council.

Dhoot, who along with Thunuguntla released an Assocham study 'PSU Divestment: FAQ on listing of PSUs', said foreign institutional investors are moving most of the funds to the US from debt markets here and not the equity market.

"This should comfort the Government managers to continue disinvestment," Dhoot said.

Good quality PSU divestments with right pricing could renew foreign investors' interest in Indian equities. Despite the upheaval in financial markets, the Government must stay the course on disinvestments, Dhoot said.

The disinvestment department should not take a back foot because of the current capital market conditions, Thunuguntla said.

Rather, disinvestment provides an exceptional opportunity to bring more foreign money flows into India. Moreover, rupee is at a conducive point for global money to come in, Thunuguntla said.

"Disinvestment should not be a victim of capital market slowdown. It should be a medicine. There is a reason to be more aggressive on disinvestment front".

The Assocham study has noted that the road to disinvestment has been bumpy. It has also highlighted that the four Ps of disinvestment — policy, promise, prognosis and performance — look grim.

NEW DELHI, APRIL 29:

The Department of Disinvestment may be asked to consider listing as many as 30 additional Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) in three years.

Meanwhile, the Government is also likely to allow cash-rich, Government-owned companies to buy small stakes in other smaller Government-owned enterprises, in order to help them fulfil mandatory minimum public shareholding norms.

The move regarding the listing of companies was contained in a note circulated to the Group of Ministers (GoM) which is examining public sector enterprise reforms, a senior Government official said. This group, headed by the Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, held its first meeting on April 23.

The panel of Experts on CPSUs' reforms, headed by former SAIL Chairman S.K. Roongta, had recommended that at least thirty 30 CPSEs should be listed in the next three years, going up to 50 in the next five years.

According to bsepsu.com, as on March 31, of the total of 260 CPSEs and their subsidiaries, only 50 were listed. Forty six of these were listed on the BSE. These constituted 19 per cent of the total market capitalisation of 5,003 companies listed on the BSE. National Buildings Construction Corporation was the last CPSE that went for listing in 2012.

At present, there are 100 CPSEs which are earning profit in the last 3 years, but still unlisted.

CROSS HOLDING

In the mean time, the Department of Disinvestment may allow cash rich CPSEs to help some of the listed CPSEs to fulfil the norm of minimum public share holdings of 10 per cent by August this year. "There are 8-9 listed CPSEs where promoters' shareholding is as high as 99.33 per cent. Now, the effort would be to facilitate cash rich PSUs to buy stake in companies which need to dilute 2-3 per cent to fulfil minimum public shareholding norms," the official added.

State Trading Corporation has 91.02 per cent of promoters' shareholding which mean it will have to dilute 1.03 per cent. ITDC is another such company where Government owns 92.11 per cent which mean 2.11 per cent is to be offloaded.

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/markets/stock-markets/govt-may-ask-divestment-dept-to-look-into-30-psus-listing/article4667243.ece

Divestment

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Motives[edit]

Firms may have several motives for divestitures:

First, a firm may divest (sell) businesses that are not part of its core operations so that it can focus on what it does best. For example, Eastman Kodak, Ford Motor Company, Future Group and many other firms have sold various businesses that were not closely related to their core businesses.

A second motive for divestitures is to obtain funds. Divestitures generate funds for the firm because it is selling one of its businesses in exchange for cash. For example, CSX Corporation made divestitures to focus on its core railroad business and also to obtain funds so that it could pay off some of its existing debt.

A third motive for divesting is that a firm's "break-up" value is sometimes believed to be greater than the value of the firm as a whole. In other words, the sum of a firm's individual asset liquidation values exceeds the market value of the firm's combined assets. This encourages firms to sell off what would be worth more when liquidated than when retained.

A fourth motive to divest a part of a firm may be to create stability. Philips, for example, divested its chip division called NXPbecause the chip market was so volatile and unpredictable that NXP was responsible for the majority of Philips's stock fluctuations while it represented only a very small part of Philips NV.

A fifth motive for firms to divest a part of the company is that a division is under-performing or even failing.

A sixth reason to divest could be forced on to the firm by the regulatory authorities, for example in order to create competition.

A seventh reason is pressure from shareholders for social reasons (sometimes also called Disinvestment). Historical example: there was a movement to divest from companies who dealt with apartheid South Africa, see Disinvestment from South Africa. Recent examples: divestment from Global Climate Coalition members and fossil fuels (similar to boycott).

Divestment for financial goals[edit]

Often the term is used as a means to grow financially in which a company sells off a business unit in order to focus their resources on a market it judges to be more profitable, or promising. Sometimes, such an action can be a spin-off. (For the United States: Divestment of certain parts of a company can occur when required by the Federal Trade Commission before a merger with another firm is approved. A company can divest assets to wholly owned subsidiaries.)

The largest, and likely most famous,[according to whom?] corporate divestiture in history was the 1984 U.S. Department of Justice-mandated breakup of the Bell System into AT&T and the seven Baby Bells.

Method of divestment[edit]

Some firms are using technology to facilitate the process of divesting some divisions. They post the information about any division that they wish to sell on their website so that it is available to any firm that may be interested in buying the division. For example, Alcoa has established an online showroom of the divisions that are for sale. By communicating the information online, Alcoa has reduced its hotel, travel, and meeting expenses.

With Economic liberalization of the Indian economy, Ministry of Finance of India had set up a separate Department of Disinvestments.

Divestment campaigns[edit]

References[edit]

Jeff Madura (2007). Introduction to Business, Fourth Edition. USA: Thomson South-Western. ISBN 0-324-36079-7.

Disinvestment Commission

Ministry of Industry (Department of Public Enterprises) vide a resolution dated 23 August 1996, constituted a Public Sector Disinvestment Commission for a period of three years under Shri G.V. Ramakrishna along with four other members. The term was further extended till 30 November 1999.
The Commission submitted reports on 58 PSEs.
The Commission was reconstituted vide Ministry of Disinvestment resolution No.11012/1/2000-Adm dated 24 July 2001 for a period of two years under Dr. R.H.Patil as Chairman along with four other members. The term of the Commission was subsequently extended till October 2004.
MODI had communicated to the Commission on 23 January 2002 that all Non-Strategic PSEs including subsidiaries but excluding IOC, ONGC and GAIL stand referred to the Commission for it to prioritise, examine and make recommendations in the light of the existing Government policies as articulated on 16 March 1999 and the Budget speeches of Finance Minister from time to time.
The reconstituted Commission submitted reports on 41 PSEs, out of which 4 PSEs (NCL, MOIL, RITES and PEC) were review cases of the recommendations of the earlier Commission.
In this manner there are 24 reports covering 95 cases which were studied by the first and second Commission. Break up of the action taken in these cases is as follows.

In 20 cases, the Commission itself did not recommend Strategic Sale.
In 6 cases, the Commission had recommended an offer for sale of minority shares. Out of these an offer for sale of MTNL shares was concluded in December 1997 while in the case of NALCO the disinvestment proposal was not pursued after July 2003.
In 12 cases, the Government decided not to pursue Strategic Sale / disinvestment out of which in 3 cases, the reason was that bidders were not found for these companies.
In 11 cases, Strategic Sale has been implemented out of which in 2 cases, privatisation has been partly implemented (19 Hotels of ITDC and 3 Hotels of HCI have been privatised).

Subsequent to the formation of the UPA Government, all the members and the Chairman of the Disinvestment Commission resigned in May 2004 and the Commission was wound up in end October 2004.

The remaining 46 cases, which were studied by the Disinvestment Commission, would be referred to Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE) in the case of loss making or sick PSEs for consideration of their revival / reconstruction. Under the NCMP guidelines, profit making PSEs are generally not to be disinvested. Hence, BRPSE would consider strengthening such PSEs along with making them commercially autonomous.

The Pawan Kumar Ruia controlled heavy engineering firm Jessop & Co has written to the Mamata Banerjee government seeking permission for closing down its Dum Dum factoryowing to labour trouble.

"We wrote to the labour department on November 1 to allow permanent closure of the Dum Dum factory. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the chief minister," a company official said. The purported closure notice has been hung on the factory gates on Saturday.

The company took this route after the labour department turned down the management's stand to shed 50% of the existing work force at Dum Dum. The Jessop management moved the government after trade unionists attached to the company opposed the management's proposal to keep the company going. Company officials also intimated the government that the law and order was fast deteriorating inside the factory premises.

The Muhurt

Meanwhile,the first trading session of Samvat 2070 ended on a positive note on Sunday with the BSE sensex and the NSE Niftysettling at new all-time closing high of 21,239.36 and 6,317.35 respectively, extending gains for the fifth straight session.On the other hand,traders said the gold remained steady on token buying by market participants to mark the beginning of new hindu Samvat year 2070, while silver declined on lack of support.

The first trading session of Samvat 2070 year ended on a positive note on Sunday with the BSE Sensex and the NSE Nifty settling at new all-time closing high of 21,239.36 and 6,317.35 respectively, extending gains for the fifth straight session.

Buying was mainly seen across-the-board as 12 out of BSE 13 sectoral indices closed in the green locking gains of between 0.1 per cent and 0.78 per cent. The BSE Bankex, however, ended with a fall of 0.12 per cent.

The Bombay Stock Exchange 30-share barometer resumed strong at 21,278.08. It hit a new intra-day record high of 21,321.53, before paring some gains to settle at an historic closing high of 21,239.36 — a rise of 42.55 points.

The 50-share Nifty of the NSE also recorded its an all-time closing high of 6,317.35, surpassing its previous closing high of 6,312.45 registered on November 5, 2010.

The Nifty, however, failed to cross its all-time intra-day high of 6,357.10 logged on January 1, 2008. Today, it touched a high of 6,342.95.

Though there was no usual trading on Sunday, a special 75-minute Muhurat trading session is permitted on the stock markets.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought shares worth a net Rs. 186.95 crore on November 1, 2013 as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 22 stocks closed with gains while eight of them fell. Tata Motors lead the Sensex gainers with a rise of 1.74 per cent, followed by Jindal Steel (1.13 per cent), Sun Pharma (0.95 per cent), Maruti Suzuki (0.86 per cent), Tata Power (0.85 per cent) and BHEL (0.84 per cent). Among notable losers, ICICI Bank eased by 0.65 per cent and M&M by 0.52 per cent.

Initial gains were minimised as some investors booked profits to write their first entry with gains on the first special Muhurat session of Hindu Samvat 2070 year, said brokers.

Reflecting smart rise in second-line stocks, 1,556 stocks closed in the green while only 473 lost ground. The BSE-Midcap and BSE-Smallcap firmed up by 1.05 per cent and 1.37 per cent, outperforming the BSE Sensex.

Stock markets will remain closed on Monday on account of Balipratipada and resume regular trading the day after.

And the Jessop!

While explaining the urgency behind such a step, a company official said: "We have reached such a stage due to two reasons—falling productivity and rising wage bills. The months wage bill is around Rs 2 crore for some 600 workers. This apart, there has been frequent thefts in the factory," the official said.

The move has come as a rude surprise to labour minister Purnendu Bose who is yet to receive the letter. "I wonder why the company took this step in haste when talks were going on to sort out the impasse. I will take up the matter soon after I join work on Monday," the minister said.

Bose held that the company is not in good health. "As far as I know the company has no dearth of orders. Mamata Banerjee had placed huge orders with this company when she took charge as railway minister in 2009. The company couldn't make the supply. This is no exception. The company has been running far below its capacity for reasons known best to the management," the labour minister said.

Sensing the situation, the labour minister urged the company four months ago in July to carve out a comprehensive turnaround plan. "They came to meet me in the last week of September and submitted a proposal to shed existing work force and freeze dearness allowance. I tried to convince them that the government can't accept such a proposal unless there is a plan to look forward. Accordingly, I held three meetings with them between September 24 and 30, first with company officials and then at the tripartite level with company representatives, and trade unions to sort out the impasse. I urged the company come up with a positive proposal within a week's time and come to me with due approval of the board. The meeting was due some time in the coming week," Bose said.

Gold prices ended steady at Rs 31,300 per ten grams in special Diwali trading here on Sunday on selective buying, while silver fell by Rs 150 to Rs 49,000 per kg on reduced off-take.

Traders said the gold remained steady on token buying by market participants to mark the beginning of new hindu Samvat year 2070, while silver declined on lack of support.

They said buying activity was restricted and the volume of business limited.

Buying was mainly seen across-the-board as 12 out of BSE 13 sectoral indices closed in the green locking gains of between 0.1 per cent and 0.78 per cent. The BSE sensex, however, ended with a fall of 0.12 per cent.

The 50-share Nifty of the NSE also recorded its an all-time closing high of 6,317.35, surpassing its previous closing high of 6,312.45 registered on November 5, 2010.

The Nifty, however, failed to cross its an all-time intra-day high of 6,357.10 logged on January 1, 2008. Today, it touched a high of 6,342.95.

Though there was no usual trading today, a special 75-minute 'muhurat' trading session is permitted on the stock markets.

Foreign Institutional Investors bought shares worth a net Rs 186.95 crore on Friday (November 1) as per provisional data from the stock exchanges.

Among the 30-share Sensex pack, 22 stocks closed with gains while eight of them fell. Tata Motors lead the Sensex gainers with a rise of 1.74 per cent, followed by Jindal Steel (1.13 pc), Sun Pharma (0.95%), Maruti Suzuki (0.86%), Tata Power (0.85%) and BHEL (0.84%). Among notable losers, ICICI Bank eased by 0.65 per cent and M&M by 0.52 per cent.

Initial gains were minimised as some investors booked profits to write their first entry with gains on the first special muhurat session of Hindu Samvat 2070 year, said brokers.

Stock markets will remain closed tomorrow on account of 'Balipratipada' and resume regular trading on Tuesday (November 5).

http://bhadas4media.com/print/15568-2013-11-02-11-22-26.html

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Time to sell

'Three eventful years of the Disinvestment Commission'

JAIRAM RAMESH AUGUST 30, 1999 | UPDATED 12:45 IST

Ministry of finance lists 28 PSUs for divestment

Monday, Apr 12, 2010,

The list includes five PSUs under the commerce ministry (PEC Ltd, EIL, State Trading Corp, MMTC and India Trade Promotion Organisation).

The government may now look at disinvestment in public sector undertakings (PSUs) across the services sector.

"Besides loss-making units, even profit-making PSUs can be completely or partially disinvested," says a policy paper initiated by the department of economic affairs of the ministry of finance.

The paper has listed out 28 PSUs in the services sector for disinvestment, including Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL), Engineers India (EIL) and MMTC, which are awaiting Cabinet nod for disinvestment.

The list includes five PSUs under the commerce ministry (PEC Ltd, EIL, State Trading Corp, MMTC and India Trade Promotion Organisation).

The shipping ministry has an equal number of PSUs in the list —- Shipping Corp, Dredging Corp, Cochin Shipyard, Mazagaon Dock and Hindustan Shipyard.

The railway Ministry has four —- Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corp, Central Warehousing Corporation, IRCON International, and RITES.

The communications ministry has three —- Telecommunications Consultants of India, BSNL, Mahanager Telephone Nigam.

PSUs under other ministries on the list are, water resources (Water & Power Consultancy), steel (MSTC, MECON), urban development (National Building Construction Corp or NBCC), petroleum (Balmer Lawrie), defence (Goa Shipyard Ltd), heavy Industries (Engineering Projects), HRD (Educational Consultants), science & technology (National Research Development Corporation), and information and broadcasting (National Film Development Corporation, or NFDC, and Broadcast Engineering Consultants India).

Among these PSUs, disinvestment could possibly be initiated immediately in the case of RITES, Shipping Corporation of India, Engineers India, Engineering Projects India, State Trading Corporation, MMTC and ITPO, according to the finmin view. "In the case of ITPO, exporters and even Exim Bank of India could have a stake," it has said.

As for NBCC and NFDC, the paper has suggested that there could even be full sale of the companies. NFDC is a loss-making company and there's no need for the government to be in the films sector, according to the paper.

These disinvestments would not only yield sizeable revenues for the government, but also make these companies more efficient, contributing to the growth process, the finance ministry paper has said.

According to Kaushik Basu, chief economic advisor to the finance ministry, the objective of the policy paper is to improve economic analysis and promote evidence-based policy formulation.

Only last week, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs cleared the proposal of 20% disinvestment in state-run Steel Authority of India Ltd through a follow-on public offer and issue of fresh equity.

The UPA government plans to raise at least Rs 40,000 crore in the current fiscal by increasing the public holding in PSUs. In the previous fiscal, the government had fallen short of its disinvestment target. The government wants to bridge its fiscal deficit through the disinvestment proceeds.

http://www.dnaindia.com/money/report-ministry-of-finance-lists-28-psus-for-divestment-1370300

Disinvestment Policy

The present disinvestment policy has been articulated in the recent President's addresses to Joint Sessions of Parliament and the Finance Minister's recent Parliament Budget Speeches.

The salient features of the Policy are:

(i)

Citizens have every right to own part of the shares of Public Sector Undertakings

(ii)

Public Sector Undertakings are the wealth of the Nation and this wealth should rest in the hands of the people

(iii)

While pursuing disinvestment, Government has to retain majority shareholding, i.e. at least 51% and management control of the Public Sector Undertakings

Approach for Disinvestment

On 5th November 2009, Government approved the following action plan for disinvestment in profit making government companies:

	(i)	Already listed profitable CPSEs (not meeting mandatory shareholding of 10%) are to be made compliant by 'Offer for Sale' by Government or by the CPSEs through issue of fresh shares or a combination of both
	(ii)	Unlisted CPSEs with no accumulated losses and having earned net profit in three preceding consecutive years are to be listed
	(iii)	Follow-on public offers would be considered taking into consideration the needs for capital investment of CPSE, on a case by case basis, and Government could simultaneously or independently offer a portion of its equity shareholding
	(iv)	In all cases of disinvestment, the Government would retain at least 51% equity and the management control
	(v)	All cases of disinvestment are to be decided on a case by case basis
	(vi)	The Department of Disinvestment is to identify CPSEs in consultation with respective administrative Ministries and submit proposal to Government in cases requiring Offer for Sale of Government equity

Disinvestment Manual - February 2003

8. CHAPTER: DISINVESTMENT COMMISSION

The Disinvestment Commission was set up on 23.8.1996 for a period of 3 years with the following terms of reference:

1. "To draw a comprehensive overall long-term disinvestment programme within 5-10 years for the PSUs referred to it by the Core Group.

2. To determine the extent of disinvestment (total/partial indicating percentage) in each of the PSU.

3. To prioritise the PSUs referred to it by the Core Group in terms of the overall disinvestment programme.

4. To recommend the preferred mode(s) of disinvestment (domestic capital markets/international capital markets / auction / private sale to identified investors / any other) for each of the identified PSUs. Also to suggest an appropriate mix of the various alternatives taking into account the market conditions.

5. To recommend a mix between primary and secondary disinvestments taking into account Government's objective, the relevant PSU's funding requirement and the market conditions.

6. To supervise the overall sale process and take decisions on instrument, pricing, timing etc. as appropriate.

7. To select the financial advisors for the specified PSUs to facilitate the disinvestment process.

8. To ensure that appropriate measures are taken during the disinvestment process to protect the interests of the affected employees including encouraging employees' participation in the sale process.

9. To monitor the progress of disinvestment process and take necessary measures and report periodically to the Government on such progress.

10. To assist the Government to create public awareness of the Government's disinvestment policies and programmes with a view to developing a commitment by the people.

11. To give wide publicity to the disinvestment proposals so as to ensure larger public participation in the shareholding of the enterprises.

12. To advice the Government on possible capital restructuring of the enterprises by marginal investments, if required, so as to ensure enhanced realization through disinvestment.

The Disinvestment Commission will be an advisory body and the Government will take a final decision on the companies to be disinvested and mode of disinvestment on the basis of advice given by the Disinvestment Commission. The PSUs would implement the decision of the Government under the overall supervision of the Disinvestment Commission.

The Commission, while advising the Government on the above matters, will also take into consideration the interests of stakeholders, workers, consumers and others having a stake in the relevant public sector undertakings."

8.1 Modified Terms Of Reference

The terms of reference of Disinvestment Commission were modified on 12.1.1998. The modified terms of reference were as follows:

1. "Disinvestment Commission shall be an advisory body and its role and function would be to advise the Government on disinvestment in those public sector units that are referred to it by the Government.

2. The Commission shall also advise the Government on any other matter relating to disinvestment as may be specifically referred to it by the Government, and also carry out any other activities relating to disinvestment as may be assigned to it by the Government.

3. In making its recommendations, the Commission will also take into consideration the interests of workers, employees and others stakeholders, in the public sector unit(s).

4. The final decision on the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission will vest with the Government."

The Commission gave recommendations on 58 PSEs out of the 72 PSEs referred to it as per details given below: -

Mode of disinvestment recommended	Number of PSEs
A. Involving change in ownership / management 1. Strategic sale 2. Trade sale 3. Employee buy out/strategic sale	31 08 02
B. Involving no change in ownership / management 1. Offer of shares	05
C. No change 1. No disinvestment	08
D. Closure / sale of assets	04
GRAND TOTAL	58

Action on all of these has been taken.

8.2 New Disinvestment Commission

As the term of the first Disinvestment Commission expired in the year 1999, a new Disinvestment Commission was constituted in the month of July 2001 on the same 'Terms of Reference' as were modified for the pervious Commission. The Composition of the Disinvestment Commission is as follows:

1. Dr. R.H. Patil - Chairman

2. Shri N.V. Iyer - Member

3. Shri T.L. Shankar - Member

4. Dr. V.V. Desai - Member

5. Prof. K.S.R. Murthy - Member

6. Shri A. Bhattacharya - Member Secretary (since April 2002)

6.2.1 Reference of all Non-Strategic PSEs including their subsidiaries to Disinvestment Commission

As per the earlier practice the Government referred specific CPSUs to the Disinvestment Commission. The Government has now decided to refer to the Disinvestment Commission all "non-strategic" Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) including their subsidiaries, excluding IOC, ONGC & GAIL, for prioritisation and make recommendations.

Since such PSEs would be quite large in number, the Commission would prioritise the cases and make recommendations to the Government on the basis of 16th March 1999 and subsequent cabinet decisions:

1. PSE where disinvestment would lead to large revenues to the Government,

2. Where disinvestment can be implemented with minimum impediments and in a relatively shorter time span, and

3. Where continued bleeding of Government resources can be stopped earlier.

While prioritising the cases, the Commission will not examine cases, which have been referred to BIFR.

Cases where a decision for disinvestment or for location of a joint venture partner has already been taken by the Government and some progress achieved, a decision would be taken by the Ministry of Disinvestment in consultation with the Administrative Ministry concerned whether such cases should be referred to the Disinvestment Commission.

6.2.2 Recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission

The reports recently received from the Disinvestment Commission are being examined. Report XIII contains reports on PSEs, which had been referred to the earlier Commission. The recommendations in Report XIII are:

1. Neyveli Lignite Corporation Ltd. (NLC). "…In case there is no legal hurdle to a power manufacturing company from becoming a strategic partner in NLC, Government could consider selling up to 51% of its equity to a strategic partner after the bidders have been suitably prequalified. If there is a legal hurdle, then at least 49% of the equity could be disinvested in the first instance."

2. Manganese Ore (India) Ltd. "…a minimum of 51% of Government equity in MOIL should be disinvested to a strategic buyer."

3. Rail India Technical and Economic Services Ltd. (RITES). "…a minimum of 51% of Government equity may be given to the employees (both present and past) of RITES while Government should retain 25% of the equity. The balance equity may be distributed among reputed infrastructure consultancy organisations and infrastructure leasing and financing organisations after suitable prequalification."

4. Projects & Equipment Corporation Ltd. (PEC). "…Government should divest 100% of its shareholding…Since the assets of the company are mainly knowledge-based, Government could consider a management-employee buy-out in PEC. If this is not found feasible, Government could consider a strategic sale of 100% to any reputed international trading organisation. In case there is no investor interest in the company, there would be no option but to close the company after liquidating its assets."

Recommendations in Report XIV are as follows:

1. IRCON International Ltd. "…In order to bring in efficiencies by way of greater focus on value drivers, strategic sale of 51% stake and transfer of management control in the company through a competitive bidding process is recommended, after having withdrawn necessary surplus from IRCON..…With a view to ensuring the retention of the employees on deputation from Indian Railways as well as other key employees of IRCON, suitable schemes of incentivisation of employees such as Employee Stock Option Plan (ESOP) / Employees Stock Purchase Scheme should be explored…..The government should undertake a phased dilution of equity, having ensured that the government's stake does not fall below 26% at least for 3-5 years."

2. Central Inland Water Transport Corporation Ltd. "…in view of the potential of Inland Water Transport that can be harnessed by private sector participants, the Commission recommends that the first option of selling entire equity of GoI to a strategic buyer may be pursued together with necessary capital restructuring. The restructuring package is to be finalised in consultation with prospective buyers. If, however, no buyer shows interest, assets of CIWTC may be sold and the company may be wound up following the prescribed procedure."

3. Cochin Shipyard Limited. "…the Commission recommends that at least 51% control in CSL should be sold to a strategic partner who can bring in the required efficiencies as well as capital, to the extent needed. Given the upward potential of CSL, it would be desirable for GoI to retain some share for some more time."

4. Hindustan Shipyard Limited. "…recommends disinvestment of the entire GoI shareholding in HSL to a strategic buyer. The restructuring package, formulated in consultation with prospective buyers, should be concurrent with the disinvestment programme. This would help in bringing in productivity improvements and marketing ability needed to turn around HSL. In case the process of disinvestment does not succeed, owing to lack of interest from prospective buyers, closure of HSL may be inevitable."

Recommendations in Report XV are as follows:

1. DREDGING CORPORATION OF INDIA LTD. (DCI). "…recommends that GoI should disinvest at least 51% shareholding in DCI to a strategic partner after withdrawal of necessary cash surplus. GoI should hold at least 26% share for a minimum period of 5 years."

2. NATIONAL PROJECTS CONSTRUCTION CORPORATION LTD (NPCC).

" recommends that a restructuring package, in consultation with prospective buyers, be formulated and the entire GoI stake disinvested in favour of a strategic buyer. The restructuring of NPCC and its total disinvestment should be concurrent. In case no strategic buyer shows interest, or in the event the cost of closure turns out to be much cheaper compared to the cost of revival and disinvestment, the option of closure has to be pursued."

3. SEMICONDUCTOR COMPLEX LIMITED (SCL). Due to " the strategic nature of business of SCL may need to be sustained in the national interest, the Commission recommends that SCL could be merged with a Public Sector company in a related line of business, like BEL. …..In case merger with BEL is not considered feasible, Government could explore the possibility of integration of Very Large Scale Integrated Circuits (VLSI) facilities of Bangalore (Society for Integrated Circuits Technology & Applied Research) and Gallium Arsenide Enabling Technology Centre (GAETEC), Hyderabad with SCL to achieve synergy and optimisation of resources as well as to strengthen the national capability in the field of semiconductor / micro-electronics."

4. TELECOMMUNICATIONS CONSULTANTS INDIA LTD. (TCIL).

"…recommends that a minimum of 51% of TCIL's equity, held by Government of India, be disinvested in favour of a strategic partner, after withdrawal of surplus cash reserves. Government should retain at least 26% equity for a period of 3-5 years…..Continuation of technical workforce of TCIL on deputation from the Department of Telecommunications / BSNL, post privatisation, may be needed for a few years till the company builds up its own high-tech human resources and becomes an international major on its own."

Report (XVI) contains recommendations in respect of the following companies:

1. Cotton Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI). "…If MSP continues, it is recommended that the GoI disinvests initially 51% of its shareholding in CCI in favour of a strategic partner, retaining the balance 49% for a minimum period of 3 years. ……………..If MSP is discontinued, 100% disinvestment of CCI in favour of a strategic buyer is recommended."

2. Indian Medicines Pharmaceuticals Ltd (IMPCL). "…Government of India holds 51% share and the balance is held by Kumaon Mandal Vikas Nigam Limited (KMVNL), a profit-making undertaking of the Government of Uttaranchal…………...first offer to sell its equity to KMVNL at a negotiated price. In case KMVNL is not interested, GoI should sell its entire equity in IMPCL in favour of a strategic partner through a competitive bidding route. Should KMVNL be also interested to simultaneously exit from IMPCL, 100% equity of IMPCL may be disinvested in favour of a strategic buyer."

3. Jute Corporation of India Ltd. (JCI). "…In case Government continues the price support operations for jute, the Commission recommends that JCI should not be disinvested now…………In the event of MSP policy for jute being discontinued, the Commission recommends that the entire equity of JCI be disinvested in favour of a strategic buyer, together with organisational and financial restructuring. In case disinvesment of JCI is not possible, owing to lack of interest of buyers or any other reason, closure/winding up of JCI should be pursued."

4. National Buildings Construction Corpn. Ltd. (NBCC). "…recommends that upto 74% equity in NBCC, held by Government of India, be sold to a strategic partner through the competitive bidding route. The Commission further recommends that a financial and organisational restructuring package for NBCC be formulated in consultation with the prospective bidders and implemented at the time of disinvestment. At least 26% shares should be retained with the Government for a minimum period of 3 years."

All these recommendations are being examined for action now.

The complete reports can be accessed through the Ministry's website and the website of the Disinvestment Commission at www.disinvest.gov.in

Disinvestment Manual (Old) - April 2001

DISINVESTMENT COMMISSION'S RECOMMENDATIONS

The Disinvestment Commission was set up on 23.8.1996 for a period of 3 years with the following terms of reference :

1. To draw a comprehensive overall long term disinvestment programme within 5-10 years for the PSUs referred to it by the Core Group.

2. To determine the extent of disinvestment (total/partial indicating percentage) in each of the PSU.

3. To prioritise the PSUs referred to it by the Core Group in terms of the overall disinvestment programme.

4. To recommend the preferred mode(s) of disinvestment (domestic capital markets/international capital markets/auction/private sale to identified investors/any other) for each of the identified PSUs. Also to suggest an appropriate mix of the various alternatives taking into account the market conditions.

5. To recommend a mix between primary and secondary disinvestments taking into account Government's objective, the relevant PSU's funding requirement and the market conditions.

6. To supervise the overall sale process and take decisions on instrument, pricing, timing etc. as appropriate.

7. To select the financial advisers for the specified PSUs to facilitate the disinvestment process.

9. To monitor the progress of disinvestment process and take necessary measures and report periodically to the Government on such progress.

10. To assist the Government to create public awareness of the Government's disinvestment policies and programmes with a view to developing a commitment by the people.

11. To give wide publicity to the disinvestment proposals so as to ensure larger public participation in the shareholding of the enterprises.

12. To advise the Government on possible capital restructuring of the enterprises by marginal investments, if required, so as to ensure enhanced realization through disinvestment.

Modified Terms Of Reference

The terms of reference of Disinvestment Commission were modified on 12.1.1998. The modified terms of reference were as follows:

1. Disinvestment Commission shall be an advisory body and its role and function would be to advise the Government on disinvestment in those public sector units that are referred to it by the Government.

3. In making its recommendations, the Commission will also take into consideration the interests of workers, employees and others stake holders, in the public sector unit(s).

4. The final decision on the recommendations of the Disinvestment Commission will vest with the Government.

72 Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) were referred to Disinvestment Commission, out of which 47 were profit making. The Disinvestment Commission gave its report on 58 Public Sector Enterprises, out of which 38 were profit making. In these 58 PSEs, the following methods of sale were recommended :

S.No.	Method of Sale	No. of PSEs
1	Strategic Sale	29
2	Trade Sale	8
3	Offer of Shares	5
4	No Disinvestment	1
5	Disinvestment deferred	11
6	Closure/Sale of Assets	4
Total : 58

Disinvestment Manual - February 2003

5. CHAPTER: DISINVESTMENT POLICY

5.1 The Initial Phase

The policy of the Government on disinvestment has evolved over a period and it can be briefly stated in the form of following policy statements made in chronological order:

5.1.1 Interim Budget 1991-92 (Chandrashekhar Government)


	*

The policy, as enunciated by the Government, under the Prime Minister Shri Chandrashekhar was to divest up to 20% of the Government equity in selected PSEs in favour of public sector institutional investors. The objective of the policy was stated to be to broad-base equity, improve management, enhance availability of resources for these PSEs and yield resources for the exchequer.

5.1.2 Industrial Policy Statement of 24th July, 1991

The Industrial Policy Statement of 24th July 1991 stated that the government would divest part of its holdings in selected PSEs, but did not place any cap on the extent of disinvestment. Nor did it restrict disinvestment in favour of any particular class of investors. The objective for disinvestment was stated to be to provide further market discipline to the performance of public enterprises.

" In the case of selected enterprises, part of Government holdings in the equity share capital of these enterprises will be disinvested in order to provide further market discipline to the performance of public enterprises ".

5.1.3 Budget speech: 1991-92

In this pronouncement, the cap of 20% for disinvestment was reinstated and the eligible investors' universe was again modified to consist of mutual funds and investment institutions in the public sector and the workers in these firms. The objectives too were modified; the modified objectives being: "to raise resources, encourage wider public participation and promote greater accountability".

"In order to raise resources, encourage wider public participation and promote greater accountability, up to 20 per cent of Government equity in selected public sector undertakings would be offered to mutual funds and investment institutions in the public sector, as also to workers in these firms".

5.1.4 Report of the Committee on the Disinvestment of Shares in PSEs (Rangarajan Committee): April 1993

The Rangarajan Committee recommendations emphasised the need for substantial disinvestment. It stated that the percentage of equity to be divested could be up to 49% for industries explicitly reserved for the public sector. It recommended that in exceptional cases, such as the enterprises, which had a dominant market share or where separate identity had to be maintained for strategic reasons, the target public ownership level could be kept at 26%, that is, disinvestment could take place to the extent of 74%. In all other cases, it recommended 100% divestment of Government stake. Holding of 51% or more equity by the Government was recommended only for 6 Schedule industries, namely:

i.	Coal and lignite
ii.	Mineral oils
iii.	Arms, ammunition and defence equipment
iv.	Atomic energy
v.	Radioactive minerals, &
vi.	Railway transport

5.1.5 However, the Government did not take any decision on the recommendations of the Rangarajan Committee.

5.1.6 The Common Minimum Programme of the United Front Government: 1996

The highlights of the policy formulated by the United Front Government were, as follows:

· To carefully examine the public sector non-core strategic areas;

· To set up a Disinvestment Commission for advising on the disinvestment related matters;

· To take and implement decisions to disinvest in a transparent manner;

· Job security, opportunities for retraining and redeployment to be assured.

No disinvestment objective was, however, mentioned in the policy statement.


	*

5.1.7 Disinvestment Commission Recommendations: Feb.1997- Oct. 1999

Pursuant to the above policy of the United Front Government, a Disinvestment Commission was set up in 1996. By August 1999, it made recommendations on 58 PSEs. The recommendations indicated a shift from public offerings to strategic / trade sales, with transfer of management.

5.2 The Second Phase

5.2.1 Budget Speech: 1998-99

In its first budgetary pronouncement, the new Government decided to bring down Government shareholding in the PSUs to 26% in the generality of cases, (thus facilitating ownership changes, as was recommended by the Disinvestment Commission). It however, stated that the Government would retain majority holdings in PSEs involving strategic considerations and that the interests of the workers would be protected in all cases.


	*

5.2.2 Budget Speech: 1999-2000


	*

The policy for 1999 - 2000, as enunciated by the Government, was to strengthen strategic PSUs, privatise non-strategic PSUs through gradual disinvestment or strategic sale and devise viable rehabilitation strategies for weak units. One highlight of the policy was that the expression 'privatisation' was used for the first time.

5.2.3 Strategic & Non-strategic Classification

On 16th March 1999, the Government classified the Public Sector Enterprises into strategic and non-strategic areas for the purpose of disinvestment. It was decided that the Strategic Public Sector Enterprises would be those in the areas of:

· Arms and ammunitions and the allied items of defence equipment, defence air-crafts and warships;

· Atomic energy (except in the areas related to the generation of nuclear power and applications of radiation and radio-isotopes to agriculture, medicine and non-strategic industries);

· Railway transport.

All other Public Sector Enterprises were to be considered non-strategic. For the non-strategic Public Sector Enterprises, it was decided that the reduction of Government stake to 26% would not be automatic and the manner and pace of doing so would be worked out on a case-to-case basis. A decision in regard to the percentage of disinvestment i.e., Government stake going down to less than 51% or to 26%, would be taken on the following considerations:

· Whether the industrial sector requires the presence of the public sector as a countervailing force to prevent concentration of power in private hands, and

· Whether the industrial sector requires a proper regulatory mechanism to protect the consumer interests before Public Sector Enterprises are privatised.

5.2.4 Budget Speech: 2000 - 2001

The highlights of the policy for the year 2000 - 01 were that for the first time the Government made the statement that it was prepared to reduce its stake in the non-strategic PSEs even below 26% if necessary, that there would be increasing emphasis on strategic sales and that the entire proceeds from disinvestment / privatisation would be deployed in social sectors, restructuring of PSEs and retirement of public debt. The main elements of the policy are reiterated as follows:

· To restructure and revive potentially viable PSEs;

· To close down PSEs which cannot be revived;

· To bring down Government equity in all non-strategic PSEs to 26% or lower, if necessary;

· To fully protect the interests of workers;

· To put in place mechanisms to raise resources from the market against the security of PSEs' assets for providing an adequate safety-net to workers and employees;

· To establish a systematic policy approach to disinvestment and privatisation and to give a fresh impetus to this programme, by setting up a new Department of Disinvestment;

· To emphasize increasingly on strategic sales of identified PSEs;

· To use the entire receipt from disinvestment and privatisation for meeting expenditure in social sectors, restructuring of PSEs and retiring public debt.


	*

5.2.5 Excerpts from the Address by the President to the Joint Session of Parliament (February, 2001)

"The public sector has played a vital role in the development of our economy. However, the nature of this role cannot remain frozen to what it was conceived fifty years ago - a time when the technological landscape, and the national and international economic environment were so very different. The private sector in India has come of age, contributing substantially to our nation-building process. Therefore, both the public sector and private sector need to be viewed as mutually complementary parts of the national sector. The private sector must assume greater public responsibilities just as the public sector needs to focus more on achieving results in a highly competitive market. While some public enterprises are making profits, quite a few have accumulated huge losses. With public finances under intense pressure, Governments are just not able to sustain them much longer. Accordingly, the Centre as well as several State Governments are compelled to embark on a programme of disinvestment.

The Government's approach to PSUs has a three-fold objective: revival of potentially viable enterprises; closing down of those PSUs that cannot be revived; and bringing down Government equity in non-strategic PSUs to 26 percent or lower. Interests of workers will be fully protected through attractive VRS and other measures. This programme has already achieved some initial successes. The Government has decided to disinvest a substantial part of its equity in enterprises such as Indian Airlines, Air India, ITDC, IPCL, VSNL, CMC, BALCO, Hindustan Zinc, and Maruti Udyog. Where necessary, strategic partners would be selected through a transparent process".

5.2.6 Budget Speech: 2001 - 2002

To use the proceeds for providing -

· Restructuring assistance to PSUs

· Safety net to workers

· Reduction of debt burden


	*

Additional budgetary support for the Plan, primarily in the social and infrastructure sectors (contingent upon realisation of the anticipated receipt.)

5.2.7 Excerpts from the Address by the President to the Joint Session of Parliament (February, 2002)

"The Public sector has played a laudable role in enabling our country to achieve the national objective of self-reliance. However, the significantly changed economic environment that now prevails both in India and globally makes it imperative for both the public sector and the private sector to become competitive. Learning from our experience, especially over the last decade, it is evident that disinvestment in public sector enterprises is no longer a matter of choice, but an imperative. The prolonged fiscal haemorrhage from the majority of these enterprises cannot be sustained any longer. The disinvestment policy and the transparent procedures adopted for disinvestment have now been widely accepted and the shift in emphasis from disinvestment of minority shares to strategic sale has yielded excellent results. The Government has taken two major initiatives to improve the safety net for the workers of PSUs. The first enhanced VRS benefits in those PSUs where wage revision had not taken place in 1992 or 1997. The second increased training opportunities for self-employment for workers retiring under VRS."

5.2.8 Excerpts from the Budget Speech for 2002-03 of the Finance Minister

Privatisation:

"With the streamlined procedure for disinvestment and privatisation, I am happy to report that the Government has now completed strategic sales in 7 public sector companies and some hotels properties of the Hotel Corporation of India (HCI) and the India Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC). The change in approach from the disinvestment of small lots of shares to strategic sales of blocks of shares to strategic investors has improved the price earning ratios obtained. We expect to complete the disinvestment in another 6 companies and the remaining hotels in HCI and ITDC this year. Disinvestment receipts for the present year are estimated at Rs. 5,000 crore excluding the special dividend from VSNL of Rs. 1,887 crore. Encouraged by these results, I am once again taking credit for a receipt of Rs. 12,000 crore from disinvestment next year."

5.2.9 Suo – Moto Statement of Shri Arun Shourie, Minister of Disinvestment, made in both Houses of Parliament on 9th December, 2002

Review of policy and new directions

The main objective of disinvestment is to put national resources and assets to optimal use and in particular to unleash the productive potential inherent in our public sector enterprises. The policy of disinvestment specifically aims at:

· Modernization and upgradation of Public Sector Enterprises;

· Creation of new assets;

· Generating of employment; and

· Retiring of public debt.

Government would continue to ensure that disinvestment does not result in alienation of national assets, which, through the process of disinvestment, remain where they are. It will also ensure that disinvestment does not result in private monopolies.

In order to provide complete visibility to the Government's continued commitment of utilisation of disinvestment proceeds for social and infrastructure sectors, the Government would set up a Disinvestment Proceeds Fund. This Fund will be used for financing fresh employment opportunities and investment, and for retirement of public debt.

For the disinvestment of natural asset companies, the Ministry of Finance and the Ministry of Disinvestment will work out guidelines.

The Ministry of Finance will also prepare for consideration of the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment a paper on the feasibility and modalities of setting up an Asset Management Company to hold, manage and dispose the residual holding of the Government in the companies in which Government equity has been disinvested to a strategic partner.

On 27th December 2002, the CCD decided that Multi State Cooperative Societies under the Deptt. Of Fertilizers be allowed to participate in the disinvestment of fertilizer PSUs including National Fertilizers Ltd. (NFL).

Title:	Disinvestment commission reports I-IV
Authors:	India, Department of Disinvestment
Keywords:	Economics Disinvestment - India
Issue Date:	1997
URI:	http://hdl.handle.net/123456789/2708
Appears in Collections:	Books - Social Sciences

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Memories of Another day

Sunday, November 3, 2013

Time to sell off the Nation!

Diwali shocker!Jessop on the verge of shutdown!Sensex, Nifty hit new highs in Muhurat trade.

Chidambaram flagged off divestment mission as UF's finance minister.Chidambaram again sustained the campaign again and over again.Even if Narendra Modi takes over the helm of the nation,Chidambaram would lead the sell off mission.

Pawan K Ruia-controlled Jessop seeks closure, WB government against it.

Chidambaram flagged off divestment mission as UF's finance minister.Chidambaram again sustained the campaign again and over again.Even if Narendra Modi takes over the helm of the nation,Chidambaram would lead the sell off mission.

Jairam Ramesh did report once upon a time.

P. Chidambaram, the UF's finance minister, was responsible for the appointment of distinguished civil servant G.V. Ramakrishna - "GVR" as he is better known - as the commission's chairman, as well as that of four other members.

Because of his reputation for unimpeachable integrity, his track record of being a strong pro-public sectorwallah and the larger-than-life image he had acquired as chairman of SEBI, GVR commanded respect across the political spectrum.

Very often Kautilya had to play the peacemaker's role.

Third, there are ad-hoc announcements. Chidambaram's budgets announced disinvestments in companies like IOC, GAIL, MTNL and VSNL, while Yashwant Sinha's 1999 budget proposed the privatisation of Indian Airlines.

Maruti stands as a case apart where the government still holds, needlessly in Kautilya's view, 49.3 per cent equity. The sale of this equity could generate at least another $1 billion.

It should take a new Disinvestment Commission another two years at most to complete the exercise of recommending disinvestment options in the balance of the public enterprise portfolio.

The sale of HMT's bearings unit to Sundaram Fasteners got tossed around between ministries for almost two years till the private company got fed up and withdrew its offer.

For its part, the Finance Ministry has to carve out a separate, full-time privatisation task force staffed by market-savvy professionals.

The Disinvestment Commission should be given overall responsibility for managing the disinvestment process, while the responsibility for giving the green signal on the final sale price could still rest with the Cabinet committee.

In addition, to enhance coordination and commonality in approach, all disinvestment proposals must be reviewed by the Disinvestment Commission. Once the commission has made its recommendations, it should not take the government more than eight weeks to get the implementation process going.

(The author is secretary of the AICC's Economic Affairs Department. The views expressed here are his own.)

Read more at:http://indiatoday.intoday.in/story/three-eventful-years-of-the-disinvestment-commission/1/255573.html

DISINVESTMENT COMMISSION

Diwali shocker!Jessop on the verge of shutdown!Sensex, Nifty hit new highs in Muhurat trade.

Ruia seeks Jessop closure, state baulks

Jessop & Company

Contents

History[edit]

Achievements[edit]

Present status[edit]

References[edit]

OUTFLOW FROM DEBT

CROSS HOLDING

Divestment

Contents

Motives[edit]

Divestment for financial goals[edit]

Method of divestment[edit]

Divestment campaigns[edit]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

Disinvestment Commission

The Pawan Kumar Ruia controlled heavy engineering firm Jessop & Co has written to the Mamata Banerjee government seeking permission for closing down its Dum Dum factoryowing to labour trouble.

"We wrote to the labour department on November 1 to allow permanent closure of the Dum Dum factory. A copy of the letter has also been sent to the chief minister," a company official said. The purported closure notice has been hung on the factory gates on Saturday.

http://bhadas4media.com/print/15568-2013-11-02-11-22-26.html

Time to sell

Ministry of finance lists 28 PSUs for divestment

Disinvestment Policy

Disinvestment Manual - February 2003

Disinvestment Manual (Old) - April 2001

Disinvestment Manual - February 2003

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