The PSU disconnect

Political calculations may have slowed privatisation, but economic policies to improve the public sector's performance brook no delay

If you need any proof of how the Narendra Modi government’s policy on the public sector has undergone a subtle but significant change, last week’s introduction of a new amendment Bill in the Lok Sabha should be sufficient. Of course, the government remains committed, in principle, to its earlier decision to facilitate the exit of public sector undertakings (PSUs) from non-strategic areas and limit their presence in strategic areas to a bare minimum. But the rollout of this policy appears to have been at least deferred, if not junked.

In February 2021, the Modi government announced its proposal