PSUs post 7.96 pc negative growth in Apr-Aug

NEW DELHI, OCT 2: Negative growth performance by Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL), Heavy Engineering Corporation (HEC) and HMT reflected heavily in the 7.96 per cent negative growth rate recorded by PSUs during the first five months of the current fiscal.

Cummulative production performance of PSUs during the review period was 7.96 per cent lower at Rs 3,224.08 crore as against Rs 3,514.51 crore of the previous year. Engineering registered a 11.14 per cent negative growth rate at Rs 2,616.72 crore in the first five months of 2000-01 as against Rs 2,944.87 crore of the previous year.

BHEL achieved about 93 per cent of the targeted production of Rs 1,669 crore during April-August 2000, which was over 18 per cent lower than the Rs 1,894 crore production achieved during the same period last year. HMT's production slipped 15.31 per cent to Rs 219.83 crore as compared to Rs 259.56 crore in April-August 1999-2000. HEC performance fell 44.66 per cent to Rs 48.89 crore as against Rs 88.35 crore in April-August 1999-2000.

Unlike engineering units, the non-engineering PSUs posted a near seven per cent growth rate at Rs 427.46 crore during the period under review as compared to Rs 399.61 crore achieved in the same period during 1999-2000.

Production performance of PSUs during August 2000 continued to be sluggish with both engineering and non-engineering units posting negative growth rates, the only saving grace being consultancy and contracts which registered a healthy 10.59 per cent growth during the month.

While engineering units posted a negative growth rate of 6.82 per cent at Rs 599.31 crore as against Rs 643.14 crore in August 1999, the non-engineering units recorded 9.11 per cent negative growth rate during the same month. Except for 10 out of the 25 PSUs under the department of Heavy Industries, all other units clocked negative growth rate. BHEL recorded a 7.27 per cent negative growth with a production figure of Rs 370 crore as aganist Rs 399 crore during the same month last year.

Meanwhile, oil sector PSU, BPCL, which posted a positive growth rate of 19.93 during the first five months of the fiscal recorded a negative growth of 11.16 per cent during August at Rs 2.23 crore as aginst Rs 2.51 crore last year. Banglore-based HMT recorded a negative growth rate of 30.5 per cent at Rs 40.18 crore in August 2000 as compared to Rs 57.84 crore in the same month last year.

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