Our Bureau
Economic Affairs Secretary Tarun Bajaj on Friday said the new Public Sector Enterprises (PSE) policy will be an ambitious one. He also expressed optimism that the economy will improve in the remaining part of the fiscal .
“A formal decision on the new policy is expected very soon. This policy would be much more ambitious than anticipated. It will bring about a paradigm shift,” Bajaj said at a panel discussion organised by an industry chamber. The discussion saw participation of Industry Secretary Guru Prasad Mahapatra, Education Secretary Amit Khare and Secretary (Economic Relation) in External Affairs Ministry Rahul Chhabra.
As part of the ‘Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan’ package, the government had, in May, announced that there will be a maximum of four public sector companies in strategic sectors, and state-owned firms in other segments will eventually be privatised. Under the policy, a list of strategic sectors will be notified where there will be at least one and a maximum of four public sector enterprises, apart from private sector companies. In other sectors, central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) will be privatised, depending on the feasibility.
NIIF fund infusion
When asked about Development Financial Institution (DFI), Bajaj said work is in progress. He mentioned the recent approval for infusion of ₹6,000 crore in National Infrastructure Investment Fund’s (NIIF’s) debt platform over the next two years. This will help the entity raise ₹1 lakh crore by 2025 for infrastructure projects.
Economic Affairs Secretary asked industry to suggest what more they expect from the Government during their meeting with Finance Ministry Nirmala Sitharaman next week for Budget discussion. Bajaj said the private sector should be forthcoming in sharing the burden with the Government for the betterment of the economy.
PLI scheme 2.0
In his address, Industry Secretary Guru Prasad Mahapatra said the process of notification of the second version of Production-Linked Incentive (PLI), along with identification of companies in 10 sectors, will be completed by April 30. As approved by the Cabinet last month, PLI scheme 2.0 intends to enhancing India’s manufacturing capabilities and exports under Atmanirbhar Bharat. These sectors include advance chemistry cell, electronic/technology products, automobiles & auto components, pharmaceuticals drugs, telecom and networking products, textile products: MMF segment and technical textiles, food products, high efficiency solar PV modules, white goods (ACs & LED) and speciality steel.
The PLI scheme will be implemented by the ministries/departments concerned and will be within the overall financial limits prescribed. The final proposals of PLI for individual sectors will be appraised by the Expenditure Finance Committee (EFC) and approved by the Cabinet. Savings, if any, from one PLI scheme of an approved sector can be utilized to fund that of another approved sector by the Empowered Group of Secretaries. Any new sector for PLI will require fresh approval of the Cabinet.