New Delhi:
Twenty five CEOs from Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in the national capital today to discuss the state of public sector units in the country. They said that the environment ministry was not clearing new projects and also issuing notices to them on their plans.
The PM has asked the Cabinet Secretary, the senior-most bureaucrat in government, to look into the grievances. The cabinet secretary has been instructed to solve the problem by coordinating with the environment ministry.
A tweet from the PM's office quoted him telling the PSU chiefs: "Our growth should be maintained at the level of 8-8.5 percent regardless of what happens in the world economy... We cannot be satisfied with the status quo. We must learn to swim and swim fast enough whatever be the circumstances."
The meeting was attended by the Finance Minister, Heavy Industry Minister Praful Patel and Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission, Montek Singh Ahluwalia.
The meeting, sources said, was Mr Patel's brainchild after complaints from senior PSU officials who say they are rarely consulted before taking major decisions such as disinvestment. There are 16 Navratna PSUs, including oil, petroleum, mining and mineral and power companies. They are one grade below five Maharatna PSUs.
The environment ministry hit the headlines recently when it objected to a proposal that if clearances are not given in a fixed time-frame, then a National Investment Board, which when constituted will be headed by the PM, will step in. Environment minister Jayanthi Natarajan as well as Tribal Welfare Minister KC Singh Deo said that this would not be acceptable to them.
After today's meeting, Mr Patel said that if public sector units (PSUs) do not deploy the surpluses for their own growth, that money should go to the government by way of dividend. PSUs in all have more than 2.5 lakh crore in investible surpluses. This year, 248 CPSEs reached a high with over Rs 6,60,000 crore of investment and a turnover of Rs 14,73,000 crore.
The minister said that issues regarding the autonomy of PSUs would be revisited, adding that a Committee of Secretaries will be formed to look into this and other issues raised by PSUs.
(with inputs from Agencies)