Overall, what is your assessment of the PSUs’ performance in the last 5-10 years? Do you believe that now there is a better environment of growth for the PSUs? Public sector enterprises have played a significant role in India’s economic journey. From just five Central public sector enterprises at the time of commencement of First Five Year Plan in 1951 with a total investment of Rs29 crore, the number of these enterprises and their investments have increased. Also, the sectoral coverage of these enterprises has undergone shift in light with the changing times. The CPSEs continue to generate direct and indirect opportunities and support activities of micro and small sized industries. According to the latest available data (from Economic Survey 2023-24), as of 31 March 2023, as many as 254 operational Central public sector enterprises have been reported. The financial parameters indicate good performance in 2022-23 and 2023-24. The overall net profit of operating CPSEs in 2022-23 was Rs2.12 lakh crore. Moreover, the number of profit-making CPSEs has increased from 178 in 2018-19 to 193 in 2022-23, while loss-making CPSEs have come down from 70 to 57 over the same period. Do you think, the current government’s capital expenditure drive is playing a critical role in creating more opportunities for the PSUs? Furthermore, do programmes like ‘Make in India’ benefit some of them, which are positioned in the strategic sectors? The focus on capital expenditure, especially infrastructure sector, has boded well for the enterprises in the sectors including roads, power, metals, railways and heavy equipment. As for programmes like Make in India, enterprises in strategic sectors like the defence sector have benefited. The push to indigenous defence manufacturing is evidently visible and this has in turn given an impetus to related exports from India.
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Defence sector is flying high because of initiatives like Make in India
