HMT Revival Plan Gains Steam, Workers’ Dues Top Priority As MHI Moves On PSU Turnaround

Last Updated:February 17, 2026, 07:00 IST

A series of meetings has been held between the Ministry, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Financial Secretary to finalise the plan

Nearly two months after its announcement, the Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) has begun moving on the Hindustan Machine Tools’ (HMT) revival plan, with internal processes and inter-ministerial coordination now formally afoot.

Clearing workers’ dues, including pending salaries, statutory payments, and other legal-financial entitlements, has been identified as the first and non-negotiable priority as the government charts the company’s revival, News 18 has learnt.

A series of meetings has been held between the Ministry, the Cabinet Secretary, and the Financial Secretary to finalise the plan. The revival plan was unveiled in December 2025, after NITI Aayog submitted a comprehensive 1,023-page report recommending the resurrection of Hindustan Machine Tools’ defunct watch manufacturing units, most of them located in Southern India.

The report reflected HMT’s enduring brand recall and argued that a calibrated and phased revival, rather than liquidation, would better serve both economic and strategic interests.

After putting in place a turnaround roadmap for Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL) and moving to breathe new life into four other nationalised steel plants, including Visvesvaraya Iron and Steel Plant (VISL) in Karnataka’s Bhadravati, and the Salem Steel Plant in Tamil Nadu, the Modi government is now taking its next major leap, and that is going to be the revival of a massive, legacy PSU rooted in Southern India.

The responsibility of steering the plan has been entrusted to Union Minister H D Kumaraswamy, coming close on the heels of the PM Modi assigning him charge of the strategically crucial rare earth magnet corridors across four states. The back-to-back responsibilities underline the government’s confidence in Kumaraswamy as a key driver of its manufacturing and industrial agenda and a prominent face in national politics.

Revival Push For Legacy PSUs

A senior official in the Ministry said that the revival of HMT marks one of the most significant PSU revival initiatives in recent years for the MHI, and for the government, a signal that legacy manufacturing institutions are not being written off as relics of a bygone era. The official added that the decision to prioritise worker liabilities reflects a conscious effort by H D Kumaraswamy, Minister of MHI, to get the workers their rights first and then reshape the organisation.

HMT, however, was not just another balance-sheet problem. For decades, its watches were woven into the everyday lives of Indians, marking first jobs, promotions, examinations, and family milestones. That emotional equity, officials privately acknowledge, remains unmatched among Indian PSUs and has weighed heavily in the decision to pursue revival over closure.

The move also carries clear political resonance in the Southern states, particularly Karnataka, where HMT’s factories once anchored entire townships and local economies. Reviving the company is being seen as a signal that industrial revival and employment generation in the region remain firmly on the Centre’s radar.

A critical pillar of the plan is HMT’s vast land holdings. As a PSU, HMT holds the second-largest land bank among public sector enterprises, and sources indicate that selective monetisation of these assets could help fund the revival without placing additional pressure on the exchequer.

At its core, the HMT revival is an attempt to bring time full circle. By putting workers first, the government is signalling that the revival of a legacy institution is not just about restarting machines, but about restoring trust before asking HMT to measure India’s time once again.

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