PSU collaborators turn competitors

NEW DELHI, May 15: With former collaborators turning into competitors, technology-driven public sector units are struggling to survive. Several MNCs which were happy to transfer technology in the pre-liberalisation era, are now avoiding PSUs and have set up their own shop to sell in the Indian market.

While the strong among the PSUs have managed to retain their market shares, the technology source for most PSUs is drying up. Realising the gravity of the situation the governmnent is trying various measures to ensure that the PSUs continue to get technical inputs and maintain their markets. 8220;You can8217;t blame the MNCs for not giving technologies to PSUs,8221; says an official in the ministry of industry. 8220;But at the same time we cannot let the PSUs suffer. We are trying different experiments to ensure that PSUs maintain their market shares.8221;

For instance, Bharat Bhari Udyog Nigam Limited, a PSU under the ministry has entered into a marketing tie-up with Czech firm to make and sell railway tracking machines. BBUNL will manufacture a small part, but sell the entire machine to Indian Railways.

Leading PSUs like Bhel have had limited success in trying to cope with this problem. 8220;Since we are in a strong position in domestic markets, MNCs are still entering into technical collaborations with us. But now they want the freedom to sell the same technology to anyone else they want to,8221; says a senior executive of Bhel. The engineering giant saw this problem coming, and has been able to meet it by absorbing and indigenising technology for which it was dependent on foreign suppliers.y competing with ABB for selling But others have not been so lucky.