The Hindu Business Line : `Practical' privatisation, not `ideological'

IF the transition from piecemeal disinvestment to outright privatisation formed an integral part of the outgoing BJP-led Government's economic agenda, the prospective Congress (I)-headed dispensation looks set to de-emphasise, though not really reverse, the process.

The `P' word is unlikely to figure explicitly in the new `Centre-Left' administration's scheme of things. An immediate casualty would be the scrapping of the Disinvestment Ministry, a creation of the previous Government.

Mr Prakash Karat

This is clear from the views expressed by Mr Jairam Ramesh, Secretary, Economic Affairs Department of the Congress, and Mr Prakash Karat, senior Polit Bureau member of the CPI (M) - who are both expected to emerge as key players in the formulation of the country's economic policy in the days to come.

According to Mr Ramesh, the new Government's attitude to privatisation would not be `ideological', but governed by purely `practical' considerations. Sell-off, if at all, would be resorted to on a case-to-case basis and "we would follow the GV Ramakrishna (former Disinvestment Commission Chairman) approach". That would mean no privatisation of IOC and ONGC, which are seen to be `strategic' for the country.

Significantly, Mr Ramesh has also made a mention of HPCL, BPCL, GAIL, BHEL, SAIL and NTPC, which figured in the `Navratna' list identified by the United Front Governments of Mr H.D. Deve Gowda and Mr I.K. Gujral. In these PSUs, which are seen to be profitable and efficiently managed, the Government would not like to bring down its stake below 51 per cent. Instead, the emphasis would be to make them global giants. The CPI(M)'s argument for scrapping the Disinvestment Ministry is devastatingly simple. "When the Congress has more-or-less made its opposition to privatisation of profit-making PSUs clear, why have a separate Disinvestment Ministry in the first place? If there is any need to privatise at all, the job can be handled by the Finance Ministry," Mr Karat points out.

Already, there is a new Parliamentary provision that limits the size of the Council of Ministers in the Government to be limited to 15 per cent of the total strength of both houses. "There is every reason, then, to abolish superfluous Departments and Ministries. The Disinvestment Ministry is an ideal candidate," he adds.

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