PSUs must be more disciplined: Anil Swarup -Governance Now

PSUs must be more disciplined: Anil Swarup

School education secretary lays emphasis on extensive use of information technology to turn into a paperless entity

Vishwas Dass | May 24, 2017 | New Delhi

#Coal India #Subhash Chandra Pandey #Vinit Goenka #PSU IT forum #Anil Swarup #Governance Now #Coal Fields

Public sector undertakings (PSUs) can become more efficient only through discipline, said Anil Swarup, secretary, department of school education and literacy, ministry of human resource development.

Speaking at the 2nd India PSU IT Forum organised by Governance Now on Wednesday, Swarup laid emphasis on discipline and said the enterprises need to tighten their belts and adopt information technology to the fullest.

“Until and unless the PSUs disciplined themselves, I don’t think they will survive. First and foremost is internal discipline that should be maintained,” Swarup said.

“I have worked with some of the finest officers associated with the PSUs. When I was working in the coal sector, I found some good officers in Coal India Limited and Coal Fields Limited. Coal sector which was riddled with serious issues about three years ago is now in surplus because of IT,” he said.

Swarup said when he took over as secretary education, people told him that he must be feeling pretty relieved after being able to get rid of mafias. “When I was in coal, mining was underground and mafias were over-ground but in education it is other way around,” he said.

“IT applications have really helped me. After making coal ministry paperless, we managed to do the same in directorate of education. I do not know how many PSUs have made their office paperless,” he said.

He said that today, technology allows one to dispense with the physical files. “It gives you amazing flexibility. In the first four-and-a-half months of my tenure as secretary education, I have managed to travel to 21 states and union territories because of use of IT. I used to check files online because technology enabled me to take quick decisions,” he said, adding, “In my view an idea can sustain only if it is politically acceptable, socially desirable, technologically feasible and financially viable. Otherwise there is no meaning of keep giving ideas.”

He said in coal there was a lot of pilferage happening that prompted the officials to use technology. “We used GPS-equipped trucks that ultimately brought down pilferage. Their movement was tracked on virtual map,” he said.

Subhash Chandra Pandey, additional secretary and financial adviser, department of heavy industry, ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises, lauded the PSUs for their huge contribution in the country’s economy.

Pandey laid emphasis on the need of extensive exploitation of information technology to enhance transparency and efficiency of the enterprises.

Vinit Goenka, member IT taskforce, ministry of road transport and highways and shipping, said that even after two decades of liberalisation, disruption of technology is bit slow. He laid emphasis on having more registration of patents. “Country like Japan is having over 50,000 patents while India, on other hand, has got only 2,000 patents,” he said.

“The leadership of ISRO created their own market by sending satellites. They are trying to compete with United States. Every PSU should have that kind of leadership to create their own market,” he said.

Comments

Other News

When police data becomes the algorithm

For decades, policing has followed a familiar sequence: a crime occurs, the police respond, an investigation produces records and those records become part of the institutional memory of the criminal justice system. Artificial intelligence is beginning to alter that sequence. Instead of merely recording

Before India voted, the framers worried about the referee

“We are making a Constitution forever and not only for today.” Shibban Lal Saksena said this in the Constituent Assembly on June 15, 1949. He was warning that a ruling party might one day choose a loyalist to run India’s elections. Seventy-seven years later, the Supreme Court is wrestli

Delhi moves to real-time traffic management

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), chaired by prime minister Narendra Modi, has approved implementation of the ITMS Project by Delhi Police at an estimated cost of Rs.1,789.52 crore, inclusive of taxes. The project will cover 42 identified traffic corridors and will be implemented in three

MDR on UPI: Can sustainability come without weakening the network?

The extraordinary transaction volumes and value (₹29.82 Lakh crore in August 2026 alone) of the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) have made it not only an Indian success story, but a global one. In 2024, UPI accounted for nearly 49% of the world’s real-time payment transaction volume, with more th

The Xi-Trump summit: The unending rivalry

Diplomacy is akin to an art, wherein the summitry, conflict resolution and negotiations form apt constituents of the entire context of deal making and “playing for keeps” in the international arena. The Xi-Trump summit in Washington last week, in which the American president broke all conside

“Indians, yet treated like outsiders”

Moving to Delhi-NCR for education can be an exciting experience for students from Northeast India. It gives us a chance to meet new people, experience a different culture and become more independent. But living away from home also comes with challenges that people who have not experienced them may not al