Sunday, February 15, 2009

Rs.653 crore revival package for Instrumentation Ltd.

Friday 13 Feb, 2009 08:31 AM JAIPUR: The Centre has approved a Rs.653 crore revival package for the ailing public sector unit, Instrumentation Limited, Kota, bringing new cheer to the industrial sector in Rajasthan, and Kota region in particular. Declared a sick unit back in 1994 and referred to BIFR, Instrumentation Limited (IL) went through many vicissitudes, including take over bids by bigger PSUs, to see this day. The package has come as shot in the arm for the newly sworn in Ashok Gehlot Government in the State. Mr. Gehlot, when in the opposition in the State, had led several delegations to the Prime Minister and Union Finance Minister in connection with the revival of the unit, once the pride of Rajasthan. The CPI (M) MP, Vasudev Acharya, also played a pivotal role in making the package a reality. The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs has cleared the package, prepared by IDBI for IL which is expected to come to effect once BIFR finalizes the revival plan. As such Rs.103.36 crore is to be infused as cash while another Rs.45 crores would be government guarantee against capital expenditure. The remaining Rs.504.36 crores assistance would be in the form of waiving off Government loans and interest incurred on it. Once referred to as “Russian factory”-- due to the initial USSR technical support to the unit when it was set up back in 1964—IL has a sister unit at Palakkad in Kerala, which is proportionately a smaller affair though it has been better off than the mother unit most of the time in the past. The Palakkad unit manufactures control valves and butterfly valves while the Kota IL makes electro mechanical instruments, digital control systems and precision machinery used by fertilizer industry, thermal power plants and steel industry. “It is great news for the working class. Though it took so many years—IDBI had prepared the Modified Draft Rehabilitation Scheme (MDRS) back in October 2003—the package would boost the economy of the State, and Kota in particular. The unity of the staff and the workers finally brought results,” R.K.Swamy, secretary, CITU Rajasthan Council, who played a major role in getting the package cleared, said talking to The Hindu from Kota on phone on Thursday. At the time when problems started cropping up in IL, Kota—mostly due to lack of updating the machinery and the change in market trends—in 1991-92 the unit had some 3,500 strong workforce which has now come down to less than 1,400 after many opting out for VRS.