Three government companies will be closed! Decision may be taken today, know who is in the list

New Delhi: Clouds of crisis are hanging over three government companies. A meeting of the government is being held today in which a decision can be taken to sell these companies. These include Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India (MMTC), State Trading Corporation (STC) and Project and Equipment Corporation (PEC). The government can do this under the new enterprise policy for Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) in non-strategic sectors. According to media reports, the government has made a new enterprise policy for public sector companies. According to this, if the option of privatization is not practical in non-strategic sectors, then the PSU will be closed. In September 2022, these three companies lost their intermediary agency status.

In August 2023, market regulator SEBI had canceled the stockbroker license of MMTC. This was done due to illegal pairs contracts with National Spot Exchange Limitations. SEBI said that MMTC had entered into pairs contracts without the necessary regulatory approval. The Alternative Mechanism will take a decision today regarding the future of MMTC.

This includes Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, Road Minister Nitin Gadkari and Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal. MMTC works under the Commerce Ministry. At present the government has 99.33 percent stake in it.

What do these companies do?

Earlier, MMTC worked as an intermediary agency for import and export of high grade iron, manganese, chrome ore, copra and other valuable metals. At one time it was the country’s largest non-oil importer. Its profit in the financial year 2022-23 was Rs 1076.07 crore, while in 2021-22 the company had a loss of Rs 241.93 crore. It is believed that STC and PEC may also be discussed in the meeting. The government has 90 percent stake in STC while PEC is a completely government company.

STC plays an important role in the import of essential commodities like edible oil, pulses, sugar and wheat, while PEC plays the role of intermediary agency for import-export of machinery and railway equipment. These three companies come under the Commerce Ministry. MMTC was established in 1963. Similarly, STC was established in 1956. PEC was separated from STC in 1971–72. In the last session, MMTC shares had closed at Rs 63.50 with a decline of 10 percent. Similarly, STC shares also closed at Rs 129.30 with a decline of 4.33 percent.