Fifty years ago | Minister rules out nationalisation of more industries Premium

New Delhi, March 27: The Industrial Development Minister, Mr. C. Subramaniam, to-day ruled out further nationalisation of industries for the present.

Replying to the debate on the budget demands for his Ministry in the Lok Sabha, Mr. Subramaniam said the first task now was to have stable conditions in the industries already in the public sector. “The trouble starts” as soon as any industry was nationalised.

Mr. Subramaniam ridiculed the leftist demand for the immediate nationalisation of the larger industrial houses.

Unless conditions were created in the public sector projects to make them run smoothly, there was no point in further nationalisation.

Mr. Subramaniam said that the very people who were advocating the cause were playing politics in public sector projects.

Repudiating the charge by a CPM member that the Government had “shamelessly retreated” from its industrial policy vis-a-vis big industrial houses, Mr. Subramaniam said even in restricted areas earmarked for the larger houses, medium entrepreneurs were given preference to the former. The larger houses were allowed only to “fill in gaps” in production targets.

He said many top level executives had been giving up posts in the private sector and joining public enterprises. With proper men at the top, the whole situation in some of the public undertakings had dramatically changed.