Maran Seeks Consensus On Autonomy For Navratna Psus

Industry minister Murasoli Maran is seeking a consensus on giving full autonomy to the `navratnas, the nine public sector undertakings (PSUs) chosen for promotion as global giants, in an effort to make a policy announcement in the current session of Parliament.

I will first meet the chief executives of these PSUs and then the secretaries and ministers in the concerned administrative ministries, before taking it up at higher levels and to the cabinet, Maran said in an interview yesterday. He gave the tentative date for meeting the chief executives of these PSUs as May 1.

The navratna PSUs being considered are: Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (Bhel), Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL), National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC), Hindustan Petroleum (HPCL), Bharat Petroleum (BPCL), Indian Petrochemicals (IPCL) and Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd (VSNL).

The minister, indicating that a cabinet note on this issue could be prepared by his ministry next month itself. I would be happy to finish the job at the earliest, but I need the consent of the concerned administrative ministries, he said.

The minister said he was not averse to full autonomy vis-a-vis investment decisions for these PSUs, adding that this would of course have to be accompanied by greater accountability and we will have to strike a balance between government ownership and the commercial needs of the corporations.

Going by Marans idea of professionalisation of the boards of these PSUs in tandem with freedom to take investment decisions, the `navratnas could come out of the purview of the Public Investment Board (PIB) and the administrative ministries would have lesser say.

A policy prescription for these nine PSUs would pave the way for the much-needed reforms and disinvestment of profit-making state-enterprises followed by a similar exercise in loss-making undertakings.

The nine PSUs had submitted individual memorandums to the industry minister outlining their strengths and demanding freedom in taking investment and commercial decisions as the present system of decision-making and clearances was inimical to their commercial interests.

It is in this backdrop that a suggestion was also mooted to the industry ministry by one corporation that Article 12 of the Constitution should be amended to remove these PSUs from state control, ministry sources said. The autonomy being considered could be just short of this, they said. Maran said that not much progress had been made on public sector reforms despite commitments of successive governments. He emphasised that a consensus was a must on autonomy as the issue involved administrative ministries and suggested that professionals could comprise a particular percentage of board members for strengthening these PSUs.