The off-loading of 9.5 per cent stake in NTPC, as is being contemplated by the government, is a dangerous thought that should never have surfaced. The government does not appear to have a coherent and well thought out policy of disinvestment. It seems to have no discrimination at all about which government corporations to disinvest and which not to. In a mixed economy the public sector has been given an important role which is for a definite public purpose. The changes in economic policy that followed the crisis of 1991 did bring a shift in thought in some quarters regarding public sector units in India. Some have argued that market-driven economies are more efficient than the state-planned economies and that the role of the state should be as a regulator and not as the producer. This is merely a perspective in economics that favours private capital and is not necessarily true. There are many factors that bedevil the performance of public sector enterprises. Not the least among them is the excessive interference in the workings of these enterprises by government and politicians. These enterprises have not been allowed the freedom to perform that should have been theirs. There has, moreover, been no consensus on the issue of disinvestment in the country with many political parties opposed to it. Even conceding for the moment that there was some truth in the arguments for disinvestment, it may well be imagined that only those PSUs which have been characterised by low productivity, unsatisfactory production, excessive manpower utilisation and inadequate human resource development would merit the involvement of private capital. This, however, is certainly not the case with NTPC, which is a maharatna corporation and is among those which have performed outstandingly over the years.
The generation of electricity by NTPC has been above the normal for the power sector. It is a corporation that has been given several awards for excellence for its performance. By no stretch of imagination can it be said that it is being run badly. There is no logic to the thought that shares of NTPC should be off-loaded. The fact that the government is even contemplating this act shows that it is batting for the interests of private capital at the expense of public interest. It shows that that the government is following pro-rich polices. This has been demonstrated by the recent policy initiaties of the government regarding foreign direct investment as well which favour foreign investors and multinationals. The government’s move to disinvest in NTPC should be
strongly opposed.
The generation of electricity by NTPC has been above the normal for the power sector. It is a corporation that has been given several awards for excellence for its performance. By no stretch of imagination can it be said that it is being run badly. There is no logic to the thought that shares of NTPC should be off-loaded. The fact that the government is even contemplating this act shows that it is batting for the interests of private capital at the expense of public interest. It shows that that the government is following pro-rich polices. This has been demonstrated by the recent policy initiaties of the government regarding foreign direct investment as well which favour foreign investors and multinationals. The government’s move to disinvest in NTPC should be
strongly opposed.