Key things President said on PSUs while addressing Public Sector Day Function

President Pranab Mukherjee presenting SCOPE Excellence Awards, on the occasion of the Public Sector Day function, in New Delhi on April 11

WHILE addressing the 7th Public Sector Day and giving away SCOPE Excellence Awards in a function jointly organized by Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE) and Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) in New Delhi on April 11, President Pranab Mukherjee said to face the challenges of a Globally Integrated Economy, it is equally essential that our CPSES collaborate and pool their resources to face and overcome Competition. Here are ten key things...
that the President said about PSUs in his speech.
The President also addressed the Chief Executives of Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs).
Praise for DPE & SCOPE: President complimented DPE and SCOPE for recognizing Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) for the efforts put in by them and their achievements in inculcating leadership qualities. The Minister of Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises and other dignitaries have very ably elucidated various accomplishments of CPSEs over the years as also the policy initiatives taken by Government to further improve the performance of CPSEs.
Role of Women: It is also a matter of satisfaction that the role of women in CPSEs is being recognized and acknowledged through presentation of a special citation for Outstanding Woman Manager in CPSEs.
Role of PSU: The contribution of the Indian public sector in ensuring balanced economic and industrial development cannot be over emphasized. The public sector has grown exponentially since independence in all metrics of measurement be it in terms of numbers, diversification, volume of investment and global presence.
Current situation: These achievements become even more significant when viewed in the backdrop of lack of capital and entrepreneurship skills in early years of post-independent India, reluctance of private players to set up capital intensive industries having a long gestation period and the need for generating employment and ensuring balanced socio-economic and regional development of the country.
Profit motive: It is a truism that at most times, early on, the profit motive was eschewed in preference to the broader objective of overall societal development.
Steady growth: President said as per available data, during 2014-15, PSEs could register a growth of 7% in Paid up Capital & Capital Employed; 10.5% in total investment and 20% in total market capitalization as compared to the previous year.
Good profit: On an average during the last 3 years from 2012-13 to 2014-15, operating PSEs could earn an overall net profit of Rs. 1,15,426 crore, generate gross turnover/ revenue of Rs. 20,02,591 crore and pay dividend of Rs. 57,115 crore. The contribution of the PSEs in the nation’s economy has, thus, continued to be significant year after year, said the President.
Key initiatives: Referring to the Prime Minister and the Government’s outlined ambitious and clear vision for inclusive development of the country, Mukherjee said the PSUs have a bigger role to play in the implementation of programmes like "Make in India”, "Skill Building”, "Digital India” and "Swachch Bharat”. These are the “cornerstones for the future development of India”. He expressed happiness to note the PSE’s contributions towards these national priority areas. He complimented SCOPE for bringing out a comprehensive Compendium showcasing the CPSEs contributions towards these initiatives.
Wealth of PSUs: The President said the budget has drawn attention to the need for unlocking the wealth of CPSEs for greater economic activity. CPSEs need to take immediate steps to identify and unlock the surplus land available with them as the same can be used in generating much needed public investments to boost the economy and increase employment opportunities. There is a similar need for identifying and unlocking the free surplus reserves which are available with our CPSEs so that the same may be utilized for undertaking enhanced capital expenditure.
Global integration: He said in order to face the challenges of a globally integrated economy, it is equally essential that our CPSEs collaborate and pool their resources to face and overcome competition. The financial, technical and manpower resources of our CPSEs need to be shared to enable better and more optimal solutions in increasingly customer driven markets. The exceptional human capital available with CPSEs should be harnessed to develop suitable strategies and interventions which lead to improvement in performance and expansion of operations both in domestic and global markets. It is heartening to note that CPSEs have continued to be model employers and have maintained ethical standards in their operations in the face of ever increasing competition.
Technological edge: The President said, “I am particularly glad that given the competitive environment, the PSEs undertook significant initiatives for up scaling technologies and capacities in order to operate at par with their private counterparts in a progressively liberalizing economy. The continued efforts at excellence have helped several of our PSEs become self-reliant and play a critical role in building the Indian economy.”
Bigger role of PSU: The International Monetary Fund (IMF) describes our economy as the only ‘bright spot’ in an otherwise bleak economic scenario globally. The Government remains committed to the India growth story and to progressive macro-level consolidation, both on the fiscal and monetary fronts. It is, therefore, incumbent on all of us, particularly the Public Sector, to continue to strive towards excellence with a view to fast-tracking the pace of economic development in the country, Mukherjee added.