The Hindu Business Line : PM urges public sector units to get listed

The Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, Mr R.S. Sharma, is flanked by SCOPE excellence award winners – the SAIL Chairman, Mr S.K. Roongta (right), and the Indian Oil Chairman, Mr Sarthak Behuria – in the Capital on Thursday. —

Our Bureau

New Delhi, Oct. 15 The Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, gave away the SCOPE Excellence Awards to Chief Executives for outstanding contribution to the public sector in the Capital on Thursday. Speaking on the occasion, he urged public sector enterprises (PSEs) to get listed to unlock their true potential and help them raise funds.

“Our government is encouraging listing of public sector undertakings and this unlocks the true value of a company, improves its corporate governance standards and also helps in raising resources for funding future expansion plans,” Dr Singh said in his speech. The Prime Minister said an increasing number of public sector undertakings are keen on entering the capital market.

“There is no denying the fact that PSEs are here to stay in the Indian economy. Some of them have shown sustained profitability and good consistent performance.

“The listed ones on the Stock Exchanges account for more than 24 per cent of the total market capitalisation of the Bombay Stock Exchange. Let me state once again today that our Government is committed to giving our PSEs the flexibility and autonomy they require to operate effectively in a competitive environment.

“We have delegated more powers to the Boards of navaratna and miniratna companies in order to facilitate further improvement in their performance,” he added.

While SAIL bagged four of the coveted awards, the others went to Hindustan Paper Company Ltd, Indian Oil Corporation, Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, among others.