Pant says divestment process unsatisfactory

Fredric Langer, head of centre for cooperation with non-member, OECD, said since India was a major player in the world economy, the OECD wanted to share its experience in privatisation of State enterprises with India.

Lange pointed out that the issue of corporate governance of state-owned companies is very significant. He added that although OECD had corporate governance guidelines, it has felt the need to change them. The guidelines are being reworked especially in the light of the Enron fiasco, he said.

ICSSR chairman V.R. Panchmukhi pointed out that since privatisation was the corollary of liberalisation and globalisation, it cannot be ignored in India. He said India should try to learn from the privatisation experiences of other countries and should avoid the mistakes.

According to Valsa Shah, economic adviser, office of telecommunication, UK, there has been substantial improvements in the efficiency of networks in each industry in the UK after privatisation.

Interruptions in the supply of electricity has fallen since 1990 as a result of improved performance in electricity transmission and distribution, she said.