Kerala government allows BHEL to exit from joint venture with EML

The Kerala government on Monday allowed Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) to exit the joint venture (JV) with State-run Electrical Machines Ltd. at Kasaragod. A decision in this regard was taken at a high-level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan. BHEL-EML was incorporated in 2011, by acquiring the Kasaragod unit of KEL, a State PSU, as a joint venture with Government of Kerala. BHEL had 51% equity in the JV and the Kerala government holding 49%. However, BHEL was unwilling to invest any amount as per the agreement, and also wanted to exit the JV, a government release said. The company with 174 employees was running on loss. In these circumstances, the Chief Minister called a high-level meeting in which Industries Minister A C Moideen, Member of Parliament P Karunakaran, Chief Secretary Nalini Netto and BEHL-Electrical Machines Ltd Managing Director S Basu, among others participated. BHEL-Electrical Machines Ltd, Kasaragod, is a Central Public Sector Enterprise (CPSE) and a subsidiary of BHEL, a Maharatna company. ref: http://www.livemint.com/Companies/1O7RN00ZAouYzOsuHmCoxN/Kerala-government-allows-BHEL-to-exit-from-joint-venture-wit.html