PSU privatisation: Going ahead with mantra of ‘Privatise, Monetise & Modernise,’ says PM

• 'Government is committed to privatising all sectors, except strategic ones'

• 'Loss-making PSUs burdening economy by using up taxpayers' money'

• 'PSUs need not be kept running because they've been running for so many years'

• 'Privatisation of PSUs will bring better employment opportunities for youth'

New Delhi: While asserting that public sector undertakings (PSUs) in India do not hold the same kind of relevance as they did at the time they were started, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the government is going ahead with the mantra of 'Privatise, Monetise & Modernise.' Addressing a webinar on Wednesday on the effective implementation of Budget provisions on PSU disinvestment, PSU privatisation and asset monetisation, the PM said that the time and needs of the country when the public sector enterprises were started were different from today.

He said the biggest goal of these reforms is to properly utilise public money. "Many Public sector enterprises are loss-making and are supported by taxpayers' money and due to this, the economy is also burdened. Public sector enterprises need not be kept running just because they've been running for so many years."

'Budget focuses on strong contribution of private sector in India's development'

Addressing the webinar, the Prime Minister said the Budget 2021-22 has put forward a clear roadmap to take India back to the high growth trajectory. He added that the Budget also focuses on the strong contribution of the private sector in India's development. He stressed on the importance of PSU disinvestment and asset monetization. He said it is the responsibility of the government to give full support to the enterprises of the country but at the same time, the government has no business to be in business.

'Govt works with several limitations, not easy to take commercial decisions'

The Prime Minister said that the focus of the government should be on the welfare of the people and on development-related projects. He added that the government works with several limitations and hence it is not easy to take commercial decisions. He said that the effort of our government is to improve the standard of living of the people, besides reducing the government's unnecessary interference in the lives of the people. He added that there should be no lack of government or influence of government in life. He said there are a lot of underutilised and unutilised assets in the country and the National Asset Monetisation Pipeline was announced with this in mind. He said that the government plans on monetising PSU assets and that space is going to be filled by the private sector of the country. He added that the private sector brings investment and best global practices with them.

PSU privatisation will bring better employment opportunities for youth: PM

The Prime Minister said the money that comes from monetisation of public assets and privatisation can be used in public welfare schemes. He added PSU privatisation would empower the youth with better employment opportunities. He said that the government is committed to privatising all the sectors, except strategic ones. A clear roadmap for investments would be drafted. This would create new investment opportunities and immense employment opportunities in every sector.

The Prime Minister said the government is moving in this direction with full commitment, with equally high priority on the implementation of these policies. He also said that to ensure transparency and our procedures are correct to ensure competition, it is very important to have a stable policy.

'India promoting ease of doing business'

The Prime Minister said an Empowered Group of Secretaries has been formed to connect with investors and remove their issues rapidly. Likewise single point of contact for investors has been made to improve the ease of doing business in India. He said over the years, the government has continuously reformed to make India an important destination for business and today India is equipped with one market-one tax system. He said companies in India have excellent channels for entry and exit. He added that the government is constantly making complexities related to compliances simpler and quickly solving logistical problems. "Today, India's tax system is also being simplified and transparency is being strengthened," said Modi.

ALSO READ: Asset monetisation: 'Private sector can partake in India's growth by buying PSU brownfield assets'

The Prime Minister said that India has taken unprecedented reforms on FDI policy and Production Linked Incentive (PLI) has been introduced to encourage investors. He said this has resulted in a record inflow of FDI in the past few months. He added for developing Atmanirbhar Bharat, we are swiftly working on modern infrastructure and multimodal connectivity. He said that in the next five years, we would be spending Rs 111 trillion to upgrade our infrastructure through the National Infrastructure Pipeline. "These expectations of the world's largest young nation are not only from the government but also from the private sector and these aspirations have brought on a huge opportunity of business so let us all use these opportunities," said Modi.

(PSU Watch– India's Business News centre that places the spotlight on PSUs, Bureaucracy, Defence and Public Policy is now on Telegram. Join PSU Watch Channel in your Telegram and stay updated)