Disinvestment is no doubt a tool for any government to get rid of its stake in public sector undertakings (PSU), now increasingly being considered a white elephant (“ >Big-ticket divestment likely ”, Feb.5). But the use of such a tool should be exceptional and need based as private sector management has its own drawbacks. Non- or underperformance of PSUs is mainly due to mismanagement by the bureaucracy, trade unionism, directives from politicians, and the absence of modern technology and a competitive work culture. If these issues are addressed, I am sure that the public sector will also help bring in investment and ‘brain gain’ in the long run.
Kshirasagara Balaji Rao,
Hyderabad
Governments have been investing crores of rupees in Central public sector enterprises since Independence with the aim of achieving self-sufficiency. At one time, the investment accounted for more than 70 per cent of both aggregate paid-up capital and assets of the organised corporate sector. Due to a multitude of reasons, it is painful to note that we did not achieve what we set out to and have increasingly become dependent on imported products of even established technologies. Except for a few CPSUs in the core sectors, most are in the red and our return of income in comparison to the huge investments made so far, no way near expected norms. Viewed from this perspective, the disinvestment plan appears to be on sound basis.
R. Sridhar,
Bengaluru
