The decision to set up a separate disinvestment ministry, possibly headed by Montek Singh Ahluwalia, hasn’t come a day too soon (‘Short of cash, govt plans to revive disinvestment ministry’, May 26). Every PSU that has been privatised had ended up doing better than it was when under government control. The CAG needs to examine the losses that government control has resulted in, in terms of lost opportunity. If that exercise is done, it will be obvious that privatisation is the only solution. Though ministers are supposed to be there to ensure PSUs grow and prosper, the reality is that they don’t care if the PSUs suffer. Telecom PSUs like BSNL have not been allowed to place orders for mobile phone equipment on one pretext or the other. The net gainers from this lack of capacity have been its private sector competitors.
Shashank Mehta, New Delhi
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