The timeline of the government’s PSE policy, which envisaged minimum government, has been moved up, said Tuhin Kanta Pandey, secretary, Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM), when asked about the possibility of CPSE mergers to improve efficiency.
The government had announced a new public sector enterprise policy as part of its Atmanirbhar Bharat reforms to minimise presence in key strategic sectors and exit the non-strategic ones.
Noting that the government was still focused on becoming a more privatised economy, Pandey, in an interview with Moneycontrol, noted that the focus is on value creation.
“We didn't have actually a fixed timeline there. Privatisation efforts are contingent on availability of bidders and how conducive it is to carry out such initiatives. But the primary issue of value creation remains, irrespective of whether you privatise or not,” he said.
DIPAM secretary also noted that the disinvestment process was continuing and the government had other options available.
“You do have non-listed companies. So, you can start with listing. The transfer of the management control creates a new dimension, which is time taking, because the company is going out of the government control for good. There are a lot of issues with respect to transfer, but none of these things arise when you're going to the market,” he noted.
The secretary also pointed out that green initiatives could also unlock value for the government.
“All the companies are building up the green assets, some of them are doing it via subsidiaries. They're creating the capacity, and if there is a certain size, they will put it together in the form of a subsidiary for the possible IPO,” Pandey said.
On the issue of whether PSEs will participate in efforts by the government to spur R&D and create jobs, Pandey noted that CPSEs will participate to the extent they can.
“Employment intensity will be contingent upon technology, of course, and will vary from company to company. The PSUs are not typically very much into very labour-intensive manufacturing, because we are not into consumer goods anymore,” he pointed out.
The secretary also noted that the focus, however, will remain on efficiency and profitability.
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