Govt approves PRI for SCI's shore-based employees

New Delhi, Dec 24 (UNI) In a new year's gift, Union Shipping Minister T R Baalu has approved payment of performance-related incentive (PRI) to the shore-based employees of the state-owned Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), entailing an outgo of Rs 8.57 crore.

The employees would receive the PRI, to be worked out on the basis of basic pay and dearness allowance, and it would be effective from April 1, 2003.

As per the PRI scheme, the eligible employees would get one month's salary for a minimum net profit of Rs 300 crore per annum and ten days' salary for every additional Rs 100 crores.

The earlier scheme had provided for PRI on the basic pay alone and discontinuation of the productivity-linked incentive scheme.

The total financial outlay for the existing scheme was Rs 5.21 crores for the financial year 2005-06, and as per the revised scheme, the outlay would work out to Rs 8.57 crore, a ministry official said today.

The SCI is an ISO 9001 certified 'mini ratna' profit-making company and achieved profits of over Rs 1,000 crores consistently during the last three years. Incidentally, it is the only shipping company in the country to earn a net profit of Rs Rs 1,000 crores till date.

The SCI, the country's lergest shipping company having a share of 33 per cent of the total Indian tonnage, declared dividend of 85 per cent during the last two years. It owns a fleet of 79 vessels of 4.76 million tonnes deadweight, including two VLCCS, 37 tankers, 20 bulk carriers, three chemical carriers, two LPG cariers, three liner vessels and two passenger carriers.

UNI