My letter published in the latest issue of BUSINESS TODAY dated 25th Sept 2016 THE LUXURY ISSUE on the subject of PSUs in the previous issue:
This refers to your cover story on PSUs (September 11), with the lifelike illustration on the cover page resembling an extinct dinosaur. One can vaguely recall having briefly studied about these species in one’s schooldays. In fact, if you visit the website of UK’s Natural History Museum, you will find a complete A-to-Z list of names of such species – much like the long list of our 290 PSUs, as per 2013/14 data. There is always a million-dollar question: where did all the money gobbled up by these undertakings go? Like scientists who can tell whether a dinosaur was a plant-eater, a meat-eater, or both, by studying its teeth, a study of the balance sheets of all these PSUs can similarly reveal how they have eaten all our resources like men, money, machines, and materials. Our PSUs have also been in existence since the 1950s but, unlike dinosaurs, they have not become extinct. They have survived in spite of various economic upheavals in the country. Their number has increased over the decades. They have heavily guzzled vast sums of public money without any results like profits and returns on investment. It is high time that a serious view is taken of all PSUs and a realistic strategy is formulated by eminent experts to either help them show their business acumen or just wind up and sell the assets to add to the government’s kitty. – J.S. Broca, New Delhi
PSUs Have Guzzled Public Money Without Results
PSUs Have Guzzled Public Money Without Results
My letter published in the latest issue of BUSINESS TODAY dated 25th Sept 2016 THE LUXURY ISSUE on the subject of PSUs in the previous issue:
This refers to your cover story on PSUs (September 11), with the lifelike illustration on the cover page resembling an extinct dinosaur. One can vaguely recall having briefly studied about these species in one’s schooldays. In fact, if you visit the website of UK’s Natural History Museum, you will find a complete A-to-Z list of names of such species – much like the long list of our 290 PSUs, as per 2013/14 data. There is always a million-dollar question: where did all the money gobbled up by these undertakings go? Like scientists who can tell whether a dinosaur was a plant-eater, a meat-eater, or both, by studying its teeth, a study of the balance sheets of all these PSUs can similarly reveal how they have eaten all our resources like men, money, machines, and materials. Our PSUs have also been in existence since the 1950s but, unlike dinosaurs, they have not become extinct. They have survived in spite of various economic upheavals in the country. Their number has increased over the decades. They have heavily guzzled vast sums of public money without any results like profits and returns on investment. It is high time that a serious view is taken of all PSUs and a realistic strategy is formulated by eminent experts to either help them show their business acumen or just wind up and sell the assets to add to the government’s kitty. – J.S. Broca, New Delhi
12th Sept 2016