Political authority and economic power are now concentrated in the hands of ministers and bureaucracy. Democracy is bound to degenerate into dictatorship, wrote MA Master in August 1960.
PSUs were generally considered a drain on government resources. However, things have changed dramatically under the Modi Government. This is evident from several metrics.
CBI FIR, filed Wednesday, came more than three years after the agency opened a preliminary enquiry into allegations of collusion between JNPT officials and some private firms.
Ministry of Finance also informed Parliament that from 2023-24 onwards, it has stopped providing targets in budget for how much it expects to receive through disinvestment.
If the government believes in value creation as a strategy for the public sector, it needs to urgently do something more than just infusing additional equity.
If the reason why PSU privatisation is politically challenging is that the people are swayed by emotional arguments, then it is incumbent on the government to work on its communication
A poor Muslim man from Kurnool, selling khoya buns during the Medaram Jatara in Telangana, was harassed by some YouTubers and surrounded by a mob over allegations of 'food jihad'.
This is the game every nation is now learning to play. Some are finding new allies or seeing value among nations where they’d seen marginal interest. The starkest example is India & Europe.
If privatisation was politically challenging Air India would have never been privatised. The truth is that it is the government itself that isn’t interested. PSUs are milch cows for the government to please it’s own with perks, posts, dividends etc all with tax payers money. If the government was serious it could have set the ball rolling by selling some shares, at a good price to retail investors and then negotiate a price with any group that wishes to takeover the rest. The realised funds could be earmarked for the aam aadmi’s welfare, further muting any opposition.
Leftists will get heart attacks at the mention of privatisation. Commeidians like Karats, Rajas, and Yechurys will die en masse.
If privatisation was politically challenging Air India would have never been privatised. The truth is that it is the government itself that isn’t interested. PSUs are milch cows for the government to please it’s own with perks, posts, dividends etc all with tax payers money. If the government was serious it could have set the ball rolling by selling some shares, at a good price to retail investors and then negotiate a price with any group that wishes to takeover the rest. The realised funds could be earmarked for the aam aadmi’s welfare, further muting any opposition.