Unlock unproductive expenditure: Shourie

Wednesday, 15 January 2003, 20:30 IST
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HYDERABAD: Unlock unproductive expenditure to boost economic growth, Minister for Disinvestment Arun Shourie urged Tuesday. Speaking at the inaugural ceremony of an exhibition centre here, he justified the government's policy of disinvesting in state-owned units. "There are 240 central public sector undertakings (PSUs). People ask me why don't you revive PSUs before you try to disinvest. I have studied 30 revival packages for PSUs, in which 40,000 crore ( 400 billion) was sunk but not a single one could be revived," Shourie, who also holds the commerce and industry, held. Shourie said 350 billion were being spent every year on subsidies. Of this, 80 billion to 100 billion were being spent on subsidies for 1,000 PSUs, 250 of which were "nonfunctional". "They are actually closed. In India non-performance is considered as an asset," he regretted. He expressed surprise over the call by DMK leader M. Karunanidhi to halt to the disinvestment process, considering they were once supporters of reforms. "The secret of their opposition to disinvestment is that (Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.) Jayalalitha's government is procceding aggressively on PSU reforms," he said.
Source: IANS