Disinvestment to increase PSUs' income, create jobs: MoS Finance Karad

The government plans to increase public sector undertakings (PSUs) income and create employment through the disinvestment process, Minister of State for Finance Bhagwat K Karad said on Friday.

He said public sector companies employ 14 lakh people in the country.

''Disinvestment doesn't mean that the companies are making losses, but the government has different plans to increase their income and to increase jobs,'' he said while addressing a virtual event organized by Dun & Bradstreet India.

He said the government has decided to garner around Rs 6 lakh crore by way of monetization.

Last month, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had announced a Rs 6-lakh crore National Monetisation Pipeline (NMP) to unlock value in infrastructure assets across sectors ranging from power to road and railways.

The plan, designed by the NITI Aayog, intends to sell off/lease public sector assets worth Rs 6 lakh crore to private companies in four financial years between 2021-22 and 2024-25.

Speaking at the event, Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gas Secretary Tarun Kapoor said PSUs have played an important role in the development of the country and will continue to do so.

''PSUs have provided employment. They have been creating wealth for the country and giving dividends to the shareholders,'' he said.

Kapoor said PSUs work as a training ground for manpower.

Citing an example, he said Oil and Natural Gas Corp (ONGC) has been training people and some of them have left the PSU and joined the private sector.

''Private sector has grown because of the trained manpower coming in from PSUs,'' he said.

He said that since all PSUs deal with public money, they have much more transparency compared to private sector companies.

These entities also respond to public needs in a much better manner, he added.