Nirmala Sitharaman Has Said Divestment Is To Make PSUs More Efficient
New Delhi:
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said Friday that the principle of the government’s divestment program is not to shut down a unit or company, but to make them more efficient and professional.
The minister stressed that public companies privatized between 1994 and 2004 are run by professionally run boards, and said these companies have only improved.
During the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) iconic weekday celebrations as part of ‘Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav’ here, Ms Sitharaman said that the privatization of Central Government Enterprises (CPSEs) is to ensure that these companies operate efficiently and cost effective.
“…The principle of divestment now is not to close a unit. The economy needs so many such companies and many, many more.
“So if we want to get that activity done professionally and open up spaces for people to come and do it, our interest is not to stop, we want to get it started, we want them to work much more efficiently so that contributions can be made.” to the economy,” Ms Sitharaman said in her webcast speech from Bengaluru.
She said the principle of divestment is to ensure that companies that are privatized are in the hands of people who can run them, bring in more capital and provide the same output.
“So it’s not to close, but to create opportunities for better and more investment,” said mS Sitharaman.
The government also has more than half a dozen companies lined up for strategic sale. These include Shipping Corp, CONCOR, Vizag Steel, IDBI Bank, NMDC’s Nagarnar Steel Plant, and HLL Lifecare.
So far, in the current fiscal year, the government has mopped up more than Rs 24,000 crore from the divestment of CPSE. The target for the full fiscal year has been set at Rs 65,000 crore.
Over Rs 13,500 crore was realized through divestment of CPSE in the past fiscal year, including the amount realized through the privatization of Air India.
