10 loss-making PSEs to be closed down

By Our Staff Correspondent

BELGAUM, FEB. 16. The Minister for Heavy Industries and Public Sector Enterprises, Mr. Manohar Gajanan Joshi, said here on Friday that the Union Government had decided to close down 10 public sector enterprises (PSEs), most of them in West Bengal.

Addressing presspersons here, he said that at least 100 of the 224 PSEs in the country were incurring losses. Of the 48 PSEs under the purview of his ministry, 10 were loss-making units. The extent of losses in these units was so high that the Government equities in them had been virtually wiped out, he added.

Drawing attention to the White Paper that he presented to the Union Cabinet, he said there were three options before the Government. These were, permit the ministry to run industries which had the potential to make profits, by making investments; close down units which could not be revived; and, explore the possibilities of converting them into joint ventures, he added.

"I don't think that the performance of many of the PSEs are to the satisfaction of the Government of India," he said.

Denying that the decision to close down PSEs in West Bengal where the CPI(M) was in power was politically motivated, Mr. Joshi refused to name the units.

On farmers committing suicide unable to bear the financial impact of the fall in the prices of agricultural commodities, he agreed that liberalisation was one of the reasons for the unfortunate development. The Union Government was aware of the adverse implications of the liberalisation policy on the agriculture sector, and it would extend the scope of the Anti-Dumping Act to more items. It would also increase the import duty on a few products, he added.

On the Finance Minister's reported moves to bring down import duties on a few commodities on a par with the rates prevailing in the U.S. and European nations, he said the

the Government should take into account the interest of the industry and agriculture sectors while making proposals in the Budget for the financial year 2001-2002.

Mr. Joshi blamed the Sharad Pawar Government in Maharashtra for the predicament of the State over dues to the Enron Power Company. He said decisions taken by that Government had been reviewed by the Shiva Sena Government. The Government of Mr. Vilasrao Deshmukh was seeking the Centre's help to resolve the problem. He felt that the Union and State governments and the Enron authorities should resolve the issue as the company was interested in continuing its operations.

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