'Moving Ahead With Mantra Of Monetise & Modernise', PM Modi On Plan To Privatise 100 PSUs

Reiterating the statement of "Government has no business to be in business", he advised that the governments should focus on public welfare.

New Delhi: PM Narendra Modi in a webinar on Wednesday, once again emphasized the union government's stand with respect to disinvestment and privatization of public sector undertakings (PSUs), as the matter continues to be debated.

PM Narendra Modi in a webinar talked about the recently launched Union Budget, stating how it provides a clear roadmap to take India to a high growth trajectory.

"Many PSUs are loss-making, many are supported by taxpayers' money", he said addressing the matter of privatization. He talked about financial support to "sick" PSUs being a burden to the economy, saying that "PSUs shouldn't be run just because of legacy".

Reiterating the statement of "Government has no business to be in business", he advised that the governments should focus on public welfare.

The Prime Minister talked about there being many under-utilized, un-utilized assets. He revealed that under the Centre's plan to privatize all PSUs, with the exception of four strategic sectors, 100 such assets will be monetized to garner Rs 2.5 lakh crore.

State-owned companies in four strategic sectors will be kept at a bare minimum.

"Modi government is moving ahead with the mantra of 'Monetise and Modernise'. When the government monetizes, space is filled by the private sector that brings investment. Money coming from monetization of public assets and privatization can be used in public welfare schemes," he stated.

PM Modi also talked about simplifying the tax statement while outlining the government's focus. "We're swiftly working on modern infrastructure and multimodal connectivity. In the next five years, we're spending Rs 111 trillion to upgrade our infrastructure through the National Infrastructure Pipeline," he revealed.