The Government is examining a number of options, including shutting down the 23 mills owned by the state-run National Textiles Corporation Ltd. (NTC), as commercial production in these facilities has been halted since the Covid, at least three people with knowledge of the matter reportedly said.
“NTC has a land bank of around 3,661 acres in prime locations, hence any such action would require proper planning,” one of them reportedly said.
“The ministry of textiles is expected to prepare an action plan on this matter soon after consulting the NITI Aayog and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE),” he added.
According to the new PSE [public sector enterprise] policy, which states that the responsible authority would make the final decision, this is a work in progress, according to a second official. He said that although it is “by-and-large” believed that the next central administration would uphold policy continuity, the issue might be brought before the cabinet following a study.
The Government on 4th February 2021 notified the new PSE policy , which asked DPE to identify central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) for closure or privatisation in non-strategic sectors as per the recommendation of the administrative ministry, he said. NTC is a non-strategic enterprise, he added.
Based on accessible information, the business reported a net loss exceeding Rs. 300 crore per year between 2018–19 and 2022–2023.
Tamil Nadu has seven NTC mills, Maharashtra has five, Kerala has four, Madhya Pradesh has two, and Andhra Pradesh, Gujarat, Karnataka, Kerala, and Puducherry have one each.
The Textile Ministry’s annual report for 2022–2023 states that NTC had a tentative net worth of Rs. 920.10 crore, which is the company’s value less its liabilities.
