About 11.91 lakh Railway employees will get bonuses of up to ₹17,951 per head this year.

“The Union Cabinet has approved the payment of Productivity Linked Bonus (PLB) equivalent to 78 days’ wages for the financial year 2017-18 for all eligible non-gazetted Railway employees (excluding Railway Police Force and Railway Protection Special Force),” said a statement. The wage calculation ceiling prescribed for the payment of PLB to the eligible non-gazetted Railway employees is ₹7,000 per month, it added.

The payout is estimated to cost the exchequer ₹2,044.31 crore, said Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad, who briefed the media here on Wednesday on Cabinet decisions.

The national transporter has been paying bonuses worth 78 days’ wages to its employees since FY11 though the cap has varied over the years.

In FY17, it gave bonuses to 12.3 lakh employees with an upper limit of ₹17,951, at a total expense of about ₹2,245.45 crore. In FY16, it spent about ₹2,090.96 crore.

In FY15, the Railways capped the bonus at ₹8,975, paying 12.58 lakh employees.

Cabinet has also given its nod for closure of Biecco Lawrie, National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd and its subsidiary Birds Jute and Exports Ltd (BJEL) and revival of newsprint maker NEPA.

VRS for Bieco Lawrie Employees

According to the release, Cabinet Committee of Economic Affairs (CCEA) have given its nod to close the Biecco Lawrie Limited (BLL) including giving Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS), Voluntary Separation Scheme (VSS) to the employees of the company. The idling assets of BLL will be subsequently put into productive use after meeting all the liabilities in accordance with the guidelines of the Government.

Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas had taken various steps for revival of the company from time to time. However, the competitive environment and huge capital requirement, left no possibility for the company.

BLL is a Kolkata -headquartered, Central Public Sector Enterprise, with 67.33 per cent ownership by Oil Industry Development Board and 32.33 per cent equity share held by Government of India. Others hold the remaining 0.44 per cent shares.

The company operates in four business segments- switchgear manufacturing, electrical repair, projects division and lube blending and filling facility. BLL’s accumulated losses is more than the equity and the net worth in negative.

Revival for newsprint maker NEPA

The CCCEA has given its approval for providing a financial package of Rs. 469.41 crore for the revival and mill development plan (RMDP) of Nepa Limited, a public sector newsprint company located in Nepanagar, Madhya Pradesh. This package includes equity infusion of Rs 277 crore as equity in the company for the completion of RMDP. It will enhance the production capacity to 1 lakh MT per annum from the present capacity of 83,000 MT per annum, diversify production, improve quality of products and also help resume production at Nepa Ltd. The RMDP is expected to be completed within a year.

A loan of Rs.101.58 crore has also been approved for the payment of salary, wages, etc; Rs.90.83 crore was approved for the voluntary retirement scheme of 400 employees. Strategic disinvestment of NEPA Ltd. on completion of the RMDP at an appropriate time has also been approved.

Nepa Limited was incorporated in 1947 and also, was the only newsprint manufacturing unit in India up to 1981. This company is currently undergoing a revival and modernization plan to enhance production capacity and diversify its product portfolio.

National Jute Manufacturers to be Closed

The Union Cabinet has approved the closure of National Jute Manufactures Corporation Ltd (NJMC), which made jute bags for foodgrains, and its subsidiary Birds Jute & Exports Ltd (BJEL). Attempts to revive these units did not succeed due to various reasons, including disagreement between Centre and State authorities in case of BJEL.

For the closure, disposal of fixed assets as well as current assets will be in accordance with the guidelines of Department of Public Enterprise (DPE) dated June 14, and the proceeds from the sale of assets, after meeting the liabilities, will be deposited in Consolidated Fund of India. A Land Management Agency (LMA) will be engaged for disposal of assets.

The LMA will be directed to carry out a thorough verification of the assets before undertaking their disposal in accordance with the DPE guidelines. Ministry of Textiles does not propose to use any land or building of BJEL for its own purposes or for any of its other CPSEs and the Land Management Agency will be informed upfront, accordingly.

“The decision will benefit the Government exchequer in reducing recurring expenditure incurred in operating both the sick CPSEs in running their activities. The proposal will help in closing loss making companies and ensuring release of valuable assets for productive use, or for generating financial resources for developmental progress. The available land with both the CPSEs will be put up for public use/other government use for overall development of society,” added the release.

NJMC, has been incurring losses for several years and was under reference to BIFR since 1993. The company's primary product was hessian jute bags used for packaging of food grain used by the various State Governments. Over the years, the demand for hessian bags has eroded and to that extent, it has been found to be no longer commercially viable to run the company.

Attempts to revive the mills of NJMC were not successful. BJEL, the subsidiary of NJMC, was referred to BIFR, which had considered a Revival Scheme. However, the draft revival scheme could not be implemented. This was because conversion of land use was not agreed to by the West Bengal Government and the representative of the State Government to the ASC was nominated after a three year delay. BJEL has no staff and as the factory is not in operation; closure does not have any adverse implications.

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