The Centre on Friday approved implementation of the 1997 pay-scale along with increase in retirement age from 58 to 60 for employees of HMT Machine Tools Limited.

“The implementation of the 1997 pay revision will be from the date of approval, with one-time relaxation of the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) guidelines,” said an official statement released after a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA).
The government has made a provision of non-plan loan of Rs 61.04 crore at 7 per cent interest per annum, spread over two years (2014-15 and 2015-16), to bear the additional impact of implementation of the 1997 pay revision.

The CCEA has empowered the board of the company to increase the age of retirement from 58 to 60 years to the extent of 10 per cent of the employees retiring in any year. Guidelines in this regard would be formulated, it said.

The committee also waived interest on a government loan of Rs 38.58 crore (up to March 31). The total financial implication of the proposal in the form of non-plan loan would be Rs 136.04 crore.

Loan to ITI

The CCEA also approved a soft loan of Rs 200 crore for paying salaries to employees of loss-making PSU Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) Ltd.

The move is expected to mitigate the hardship being faced by the company in paying its employees.