Open to privatise PSUs, says Finance Minister
Arun Jaitley said government was open to the idea of selling PSUs to private firms
By : DC Correspondent
Update: 2014-11-06 01:06 GMT
New Delhi: The finance minister Arun Jaitley made it clear that the government was open to the idea of selling PSUs to private firms. There are still a large number of them which are on the verge of closure, where people are going to lose employment. Given a choice between their continuing in the present shape or getting privatised, the second option will be preferred, Mr Jaitley said while speaking at the India Economic Summit.
The minister said these loss-making PSUs are currently being sustained at governmental expense, but that was not a long-term solution. Taxpayers can’t continue to pay for loss-making businesses, he said.Mr Jaitley said reform are the art of the possible, and it was not about one sensational idea. “You can damage the economy by one bad idea. Retrospective taxation was a bad idea, which damaged the economy. But merely undoing that will not cure all our problems,” he said.
“Rectifying it will take a lot of time and one had to consistently pursue the reforms agenda. No step should be taken which sends contrary signals,” he said, adding that it was only a matter of time before the “results start showing on the ground”. On labour reforms, Mr Jaitley said some aspects of the labour laws in India could certainly be improved and rationalised. “This is an area where we will have to have a much larger consideration. Some people will certainly have reservations on this. Will I be able to immediately get it passed in Parliament? I am not in a position to comment,” he said.
He said the government needs to convince people that a flexible policy will create more jobs.