Staff Reporter / NEW DELHI
Prime Minister Narendra Modi today asserted that the government has no business to be in business and it is committed to privatise all Public Sector Undertakings-PSUs except those in four strategic sectors with bare minimum requirement.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi has asserted that the government has no business to be in business and it is committed to privatise all Public Sector Undertakings-PSUs except those in four strategic sectors with bare minimum requirement.
Addressing a webinar on various reforms undertaken in this year’s Union Budget, Mr Modi said it is the government’s duty to support enterprises and businesses but it is not essential that it should own and run enterprises.
Defending the government’s move of disinvestment in PSUs, he said that many public sector enterprises are loss-making and several of them need the support of public money which burdens the economy. He said PSUs should not be run because they were started many years ago and were someone’s pet project.
Mr Modi said the government is bringing reform in PSUs, and the aim is to optimally utilise public money for the welfare of the people. He said, the amount collected from monetisation and divestment will be used for funding development projects. The Prime Minister added that the government is moving ahead with the mantra of Monetise and Modernise.
He said when the government monetises, that space is filled by the private sector of the country and the sector brings investment. He said, this will help make things more modernized which in turns modernizes the entire sector, expands the sector rapidly and creates new job opportunities. Mr Narnedra Modi added that monitoring is also equally necessary to ensure that the entire process remains transparent. He also mentioned that transparency, accountability, rule of law, parliamentary oversight and strong political will are evident today to make every enterprise in the country efficient. He said that the government’s intention is clearly visible in the new policy announced for public sector enterprises in the Union Budget 2021-22.
The Prime Minister said that there are many underutilized and utilised government’s assets and 100 such assets would be monetised which is expected to garner Rs 2.5 lakh crore investment. He said, the government is constantly making complexities related to compliances simpler in India and quickly solving logistical problems. He also reiterated that the effort of the government is to improve the standard of living of the people, besides reducing the government’s unnecessary interference in the lives of the people.