Union Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday said the government's emphasis is on increasing turnover, efficiency and profitability of public sector undertakings (PSUs). Applauding the critical role played by central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) during the ongoing pandemic, the Minister for Heavy industries and Public Enterprises said, "PSUs are pride of the nation and Modi government is putting emphasis on increasing efficiency, turnover and profitability of these units." Javadekar was speaking at the launch of a compendium titled 'Building Self-Reliance, Self-Resurgent and Resilient India'. The compendium is about contribution of PSEs during the pandemic.
As the country unlocks and marches towards 'AtmaNirbhar Bharat', the role of public sector enterprises gains even more importance, he said. Javadekar expressed happiness that CPSEs have got back to more than 90 per cent production capacity.
On the work done by PSEs, Javadekar said electricity supply during COVID-19 pandemic was at 99 per cent, and nearly 24,000 LPG distributors, 71,000 retail outlets, and 6,500 SKO dealers were open round the clock to serve people. The minister also praised the CPSEs for maintaining nearly 100 per cent movement and production of goods.
"Around 71 crore LPG cylinders were supplied to the people, oil marketing companies have given 21 crore free refills to consumers for a period of 3 months from April to June with financial assistance of Rs 13,000 crore," he said. Besides, nearly 33 million goods were transported and the CPSEs gave medical assistance by providing nearly 11,000 beds in 201 hospitals spread across major cities and remote locations of the country.
Javadekar said there are 249 operating CPSEs with a turnover of over Rs 25 lakh crore and annual net profit of approximately Rs 1.75 lakh crore. The PSEs pay around Rs 3.62 lakh crore in the form of dividend, interest, and taxes. Their corporate social responsibility expenditure is about Rs 3,500 crore annually, he said.
