India's leading PSUs stare at weak balance sheet and rising debt

There has also been a sharp dip in cash reserves available with PSUs

India’s leading public sector undertakings (PSUs), which form the backbone of the country’s infrastructure, are facing financial headwinds themselves.

Most of the large non-financial PSUs are in stress either because of poor demand in their industry or because of the financial burden imposed on them by the government’s disinvestment programme. While the former is causing financial grief to PSUs in the capital goods and metals space such as Bharat Heavy Electricals (BHEL) and Steel Authority of India (SAIL), companies such as Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) made fresh borrowings to acquire another PSU, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation. 

“The government has