FinMin mulls bringing DPE under itself ahead of privatisation drive

Move aimed at better control over PSUs ahead of govt's ambitious privatisation drive

In order to better control public sector undertakings (PSUs), the finance ministry is considering bringing the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) under itself as it ge­ars up for the ambitious privatisation exercise.

The Department of Economic Affairs has written to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to explore the option, pointing to overlapping of some functions between the two bodies, according to a senior government official.

DPE currently comes under the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. The department monitors performance of PSUs, dividend, capex performance, possibility of buyback of shares, and pay packages of the staff, among