Hindustan Newsprint Ltd to get Rs 718.8 cr for expansion

New Delhi, May 9 (UNI) The government today approved the expansion-cum-diversification project of the Kerala-based Hindustan Newsprint Limited with a capital outlay of Rs 718.8 crore.

The decision was taken by the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs presided over by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Priya Ranjan Dasmunsi told reporters.

The project is aimed at making the company competitive by diversifying into the production of better margin-yeilding writing and printing paper grades, Mr Dasmunsi said.

The Hindustan Newsprint Limited will be able to undertake production of newsprint of lower grammage with globally benchmarked quality and improved scale economies, he added.

The project will also enable its holding company, HPC, to reinforce its market leadership in line with the Common Minimum Programme for strengthening profit-making public sector undertaking, Mr Dasmunsi said.

Hindustan Newsprint Limited is an wholly owned subsidiary of HPC, a central government-run company under the administrative control of the Department of Heavy Industries.

Founded in 1982, the company has an installed capacity of 100,000 tonnes of newsprint per year. The paid-up capital of the company is Rs 82.54 crore against an authorised capital of Rs 100 crore.

UNI SN/FZ AK RS2206