Buying time

Last week, the Union Cabinet discussed a proposal to allow public sector enterprises PSEs to invest their surplus cash in mutual funds. The proposal was not cleared and was sent back to the committee of secretaries CoS. Reason? Heavy Industries Minister Santosh Mohan Deb felt his department was already 8220;overworked8221; to take on the task of monitoring investments. But insiders say Deb is actually terrified of any fallout of stockmarket-related scams. So, the Cabinet decided to buy time by sending the proposal back to the CoS, which has been asked to 8220;build safeguards8221; in the proposal.