MINISTER OF STATE (INDEPENDENT CHARGE) OF THE MINISTRY OF
HEAVY INDUSTRIES AND PUBLIC ENTERPRISES (SHRI SONTOSH MOHAN DEV)
(a) Yes, Sir.
(b) Details as asked for are as under:-
Year Production in Fibre Kilo Metre (FKM)
2001-02 6,498
2002-03 NIL
2003-04 NIL
(c) Production in Hindustan Cables Limited (HCL) is suspended since April,2003 except for two
months from November end, 2003 when an order for supply of 10 Lakh Core Kilo Metre (LCKM) of
Polyethylene Insulated Jelly Filled (PIJF) cable was received from Bharat Sanchar Nigam Limited.
HCL is a sick company registered with Board for Industrial and Financial Reconstruction (BIFR) who
have not taken decision in respect of HCL yet.
(d) Some of the main reasons for sickness include:
(i) High cost of production of telecom cable; and
(ii) Lack of orders in view of uncompetitive prices.
(e) While the Department of Telecommunications have been requested to place orders on HCL, the
company has commissioned Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur for conducting a techno-economic
study to establish HCL`s long term viability.
