Ministry for disinvestment proposed

MUMBAI, APR 10: The Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham) has called for the establishment of a separate ministry to handle disinvestment and privatisation of public sector units.

Addressing a press conference on Friday, Assocham president K P Singh said the government should play the role of a facilitator rather than "be in the business". He felt the government should disinvest completely to yield Rs 25,000 crore annually for the next three years.

The government also needs to undertake bold initiatives to phase-out non-merit subsidies. "It should announce Rs 25,000 crore cuts annually over the next four years and reduce it from the current Rs 1,40,000 crore (14 per cent of the GDP)," he said.

The industry body also called for changes in the Industrial Disputes Act and asked for SSI with less than 20 workers to be exempted.