PSUs are in direct competition with private sector: Ram Vilas Paswan -Governance Now

PSUs are in direct competition with private sector: Ram Vilas Paswan

Governance Now fourth PSU Awards: We cannot imagine the future without public sector undertaking

GN Bureau | December 24, 2016

#private sector #cashless #demonetisation #economic development #Ram Vilas Paswan #Governance Now PSU awards #PSU

Ram Vilas Paswan

Public sector today plays a big role in the economy and it is in “direct competition with the private sector”, said Ram Vilas Paswan, union minister of consumer affairs, food and public distribution at Governance Now fourth PSU Awards ceremony held on Friday in Delhi.

Giving an example, he said we cannot imagine the private sector selling wheat at Rs 2 a kg and rice at Rs 3 a kg.

“We cannot imagine the future without public sector undertaking,” he added.

READ: PSUs are a great tool for economic development: Babul Supriyo

Paswan noted that bureaucrats need a positive attitude to develop the country. “Politicians have more heart and less brain. Bureaucrats have more brain but less heart. When brain and heart work together, then only will there be a revolution,” he said.

“Their attitude is like we will do our work for eight hours, after that it’s all government’s responsibility,” he added.

He stressed that national interest should be top priority for bureaucracy, and not caste or religion.

“When someone works in public sector, he or she is considered inefficient, but this is not the case with the private sector. We need honesty in the public sector. Today we cannot think about anything without adulteration. “

On demonetisation, the union minister said, “We know that the country lacks infrastructure to support cashless transactions, we accept it. But to achieve something, we have to go through difficulty. It is a temporary phase.”

READ: Despite privatisation, fantastic growth in PSU sector: Vinit Goenka

The minister said that demonetisation will “end corruption and bring transparency”. It will also help increase cashless transactions.

“On a flyover, vehicles can run on it at a speed of 100 km/hour. But, while building the flyover, vehicles can run at barely the speed of 10 km/hour,” he said and cited another example: “When building a house, a lot of dust is raised.”

He also said that his department has started making all its transactions using cashless channels, post note ban. “This encourages transparency and systematic working in the public sector,” Paswan says.

Paswan ended his speech saying, “We have the potential. The market is here in India. We need to work by keeping national interest in front.”

READ: PSU, technology are pivotal to India’s growth story: Experts

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