MUMBAI: State-owned NMDC has announced a dividend of Rs 7.76 per equity share, the company’s board approved Thursday. “The Board of Directors of the Company at its meeting held on 11th March 2021, inter alia, declared interim dividend at the rate of Rs.7.76 (Rupees Seven and Seventy-Six Poise Only) per equity share of the face value of Re. 1 /- each for the financial year 2020-21,” the company said in a BSE Filing. The interim dividend shall be paid as per the provisions of the Companies Act, 2013. This comes at a time when the country is facing an acute shortage of iron ore due to reduced production from mining companies in Odisha and logistical issues due to the pandemic-led lockdown. The prices of iron ore globally surged to a nearly 10-year high and went up by around 63 per cent in India.