Industrial sickness has become a major problem of the India’s corporate private sector. Of late, it has assumed serious proportions. A close look reveals that there are, at least, five major causes of industrial sickness, viz., promotional, managerial, technical, financial and political.
An industrial unit may become sick at its nascent stage or after working for quite some time. For instance, two major traditional industries of India, viz., cotton textiles and sugar, have fallen sick largely due to short-sighted financial and depreciation policies. Heavy capital cost escalation arising out of price inflation accentuates the problem. The historical method of cost depreciation is highly inadequate when assets are to be replaced at current cost during inflation.
Moreover, since the depreciation funds are often used to meet working capital needs, it does not become readily available for replacement of worn-out plant and equipment. The end result is that the industrial unit is constrained to operate with old and obsolete equipment, its profitability is eroded and, sooner or later, the unit is driven out of the market by the forces of competition.
In Dec. 1980 the total number of sick units was 24,550, involving outstanding bank credit of Rs. 1,809 crores. As at the end of March 2000, the total number of sick units stood at 307,399 involving an
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