Four PSUs face shut down; Jaitley asks others to pull up socks

Finance Minister Jaitley

THERE will not be business as usual for the ailing public sector undertakings (PSUs) with the government categorically saying that in order to stay afloat in an environment of tough competition especially from the private players, the PSUs must pull up their socks. Finance minister Arun Jaitley, who has been seen as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Mr Dependable in Parliament, has said that...
four public sector companies face shut down since the possibility of its revival are remote.
The Union minister told Parliament that the government is trying to revive seven ailing PSUs via joint-venture (JV) and disinvestment route.
"The public sector undertakings (PSUs) must learn how to function like any other business organisation in a competitive environment and should not be run like a government department," he said, replying to a question in the Rajya Sabha. The minister informed the house that 79 central public sector enterprises have incurred losses, of which 49 are sick. "A total investment of Rs. 1,57,211 crore has been made in these enterprises," the minister informed the house. “The PSUs must learn the art of surviving in a competitive environment and should not be run like a government department," Jaitley said.  Sending a stern signal to the ailing public sector enterprises, the finance minister categorically told them to either shape up or shut down. Jaitley has asked them learn the trade secrets to deal with free competition in an era when state-run firms had lost monopoly rights and preference, which marked a clear-cut shift in the Centre's policy.
As far as seven other PSUs are concerned, Jaitley told Parliament, the government is trying to breathe life into seven ailing such undertakings via disinvestment and the joint venture route.
The minister informed the house that 79 central public sector enterprises have incurred losses, of which 49 are sick. At the same time he said that there are 19 that have turned around, indicating that there will be an effort to revive the viable ones that remain competitive.
The 11 ailing PSUs for which the UPA government had approved revival package include: Hindustan Cables Ltd, HMT Machine Tools Ltd, HMT (Watches) Ltd, HMT (Chinar Watches) Ltd, Nagaland Pulp & Paper Co Ltd, Triveni Structurals Ltd, Tungbhadra Steel Products Ltd, Nepa Ltd, HMT Bearings Ltd, Hindustan Photo Films Limited and Tyre Corporation of India Ltd.