The public sector undertakings (PSUs) that have already been given cabinet approval for liquidation must be wound up and their investments sold off quickly, according to a directive from the Narendra Modi administration to its ministries and departments.
During a review meeting on August 12th, which was presided over by Cabinet Secretary Rajiv Gauba, the closure of loss-making and ill PSUs was considered.
“We need to ensure that the government’s resources are not wasted, and in cases where there is approval by the cabinet for closure of CPSEs (central public sector enterprises), autonomous bodies, and other entities, it must be implemented immediately,” a senior government official told media.
Gauba convened the conference primarily to talk about the national government’s preparations for “Vision India@2047,” a strategy to make sure that India is one of the world’s top three economies and is gradually moving toward the position of a developed country.
PSUs are businesses where the central government or other PSUs directly own at least 51% of the company. There are a total of 607 PSUs in which the government has an indirect or direct stake, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. At the time the report was being written, the CAG had not received the financial accounts from almost 90 companies. Six of the 697 are statutory corporations, and around 488 are government-owned businesses.
