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Journalism of Courage
At the prime ministers first major meeting with PSU chiefs,structured along the lines of his recent interaction with the heads of major private sector companies,the essential point that those at the helm of the countrys top 25 state-owned enterprises tried to drive home was the need for real autonomy in decision-making. Its not a new demand. But it assumes greater significance at a time when a number of these companies find themselves pulled in different directions,with the finance ministry asking them to unlock their cash reserves and the administrative ministries advising caution. This invariably leads to a tug-of-war in the boardrooms of the maharatna and navaratna PSUs.
A case in point is Coal Indias legal spat with The Childrens Investment Fund. This stems from the ministrys decision on a coal pricing policy that appears to militate against the long-term commercial interests of the company. There are other examples of the same syndrome,such as engineering major Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd losing out on a potential acquisition bid involving the Czech power utility company Skoda Power four years ago,largely because of the time taken in acquiring administrative clearances. Delays in wading through clearances have also put paid to the chances of public sector natural resource firms acquiring assets abroad unsurprisingly,the strike rate of Indian PSUs is abysmal when compared with their state-owned counterparts from China or even Indian private sector companies. While the issues of autonomy and empowerment figured on the top of the agenda,the discussions at the PMs meet also included issues such as managements acquiring a say in a companys disinvestment plans and improvements in the annual target fixation model.
