Skip to main content

Government decides to shut 3 HMT units

Government decides to shut 3 HMT units, offer VRS to employees 

The cabinet had given in principle approval for closing down five Karnataka state-run firms under the Heavy Industries Ministry which include three units of HMT, Tungabhadra Steel and Hindustan Cables.

The cabinet committee on economic affairs (CCEA) gave its goahead to a Rs 427-crore financial assistance package for closure of unviable units of HMT, including the watch manufacturing entity.

The CCEA has approved voluntary retirement scheme ( VRS) package at 2007 pay scales to mitigate the hardships being faced by the employees of HMT Watches Ltd, HMT Chinar Watches Ltd & HMT Bearings Ltd and to close their operations.

Why closure?

During 2012-13, the latest period for which data is available, the ailing public sector company had losses of Rs 242 crore on revenues of Rs 11 crore.

it was the quartz watches that proved to be its undoing along with the entry of several new players in the 1980s, who brought in newer designs and more modern production techniques. HMT is said to have been hobbled by slow decision making, often associated with PSUs.

 As a result, several attempts to boost the company’s performance including capital infusion didn’t work.

What next?

Most of the 923 employees of HMT Watches Ltd. spread over its three units in Bengaluru and Tumakuru in Karnataka and Ranibagh in Uttarakhand are ready to accept the Voluntary Retirement Scheme (VRS) package offered and end their service to the watchmaker.

HMT Chinar Watches Ltd., the unit in Srinagar (Jammu and Kashmir), earlier part of HMT Watches Ltd., has about 40 employees they too are ready to accept the VRS package.

Of the four units, only Tumkur unit is still functional producing watches for institutional orders.

Hindustan Machine Tools Limited, is a state-owned manufacturing company under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises in India.

The company manufactures tractors, watches under its watch division and industrial machines and tools mainly under its Praga division  .

It has a work force of 2,806 with manufacturing units located at Bangalore,Pinjore, Kalamassery, Hyderabad and Ajmer.

HMT  watches:

In the year 1961, HMT set up a watch manufacturing Unit at Bangalore in collaboration with M/s Citizen Watch Co., Japan. The first batch of Hand Wound Wrist Watches manufactured at this factory was released by the then Prime Minister of India, Jawaharlal Nehru.

HMT set up additional manufacturing facilities to produce watch components sets at Tumkur and Ranibagh in the year 1978 and 1985 respectively.

In September 2014, the Government Of India decided to shut down HMT operations in a phased manner.

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

India Tech Vision-2035

India Tech Vision-2035 India's technology thinktank under the ministry of science & technology has come out with `Technology Vision 2035' here at the ongoing Indian Science Congress, identifying the challenges ahead and how they can be dealt with through technological interventions while realising the dream of a developed India by the year 2035. The thinktank -Technology Information, Forecasting and Assessment Council (TIFAC) -in the vision document lists a technology roadmap for India, giving details of 12 sectors and technologies that in some cases exist but need to be deployed, some in the pilot stage that must be scaled up and technologies in R&D stage. It, in fact, talks about many future technologies, ranging from flying cars, real time translation software, personalised medicine, wearable devices, e-sensing (e-nose and e-tongue) to 100% recyclable materials among others which may be used in different areas to solve day-to-day problems “The trajectories del...
Post a Comment
Read more

Civil Service Bytes News Analysis January 2016

Morning News Analysis with Mind Map   Odd-even scheme for cars rolls out in the National Capital to curb vehicular pollution.  Centre invites Gorkha Janmukti Morcha for tripartite talks on the Gorkhaland Territorial        Administration agreement.  In Bangladesh, two students sentenced to death for killing of a blogger in 2013.  The World welcomes New year 2016 with pomp and show.  In Sports; Indian Test Captain Virat Kohli is BCCI's 'Cricketer of the Year' 2015; Mithali Raj picked for women's top award.  And, India to meet Afghanistan in the final of the South Asian Football Federation Cup.
Post a Comment
Read more

Delhi Dialogue to focus on trading blocs (TPP) and Impact of TPP on India-ASEAN ties

Delhi Dialogue to focus on Impact of TPP on India-ASEAN ties The  impact of the U.S.-led mega trading and political blocs on India-ASEAN ties  is likely to be the highlight of the 8th round of  Delhi Dialogue . One emerging mega bloc, the  Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), received a major boost recently with the joining of Brunei, Vietnam, Malaysia and Singapore (ASEAN Countries). Diplomats are concerned that India will have to adjust to  the new set of security and economic rules  as increasing number of Southeast Asian countries join TPP, which began taking shape with the arrival of President Barack Obama to the White House in 2009. “The process of joining TPP by several countries in Southeast Asia has highlighted the conflicting segments in the Southeast Asian region. Delhi Dialogue will give us a chance to assess how India will have to adjust to these mega trading and political blocs  emerging in this region which is vital fo...
Post a Comment
Read more