Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday urged foreign investors to tap the array of investment opportunities thrown up by the government’s decision to privatise most public sector entities and monetise ‘unutilised and underutilised assets’ such as airports that have an estimated investment potential of ₹2.5 lakh crore.
The government’s mantra is ‘Monetise or Modernise’, the PM said, stressing that the funds raised from the exercise will help empower citizens by building homes for the poor and ensuring clean water reaches all. “Many such flaws remain in our country even today. We cannot wait any longer,” he said.
“Our policy goes beyond annual disinvestment targets, to a medium-term strategic approach. This will help create new investment opportunities for industry in every sector. These are valuable assets, have served the country well, and have many future possibilities too. We have often seen, when management changes, the fortunes change,” the PM said at a webinar with stakeholders on the Budget’s announcements related to privatisation and monetisation of assets.
Stressing that the government’s focus should only remain on ensuring the welfare of the people ‘without too much interference’ instead of running businesses, Mr. Modi said government officials in charge of PSUs are often scared of taking decisions and there is a tendency to maintain status quo. The private sector, on the other hand, can not only bring capital but also introduce global best practices, top quality manpower and make management changes to modernise enterprises, the PM pointed out.
This would also create job opportunities for the youth, Mr Modi said, adding that the world’s youngest workforce doesn’t have expectations just from the government, but also from the private sector.