Nirmala Sitharaman: Finance Minister's advice to PSUs, improve professionalism and reduce expenses

Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday advised public sector enterprises to improve professionalism, reduce expenditure and consider working with private sector entities. Sitharaman said this during an event organized as part of the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations.

Finance Minister Sitharaman addressed heads of various Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) at Mahatma Mandir in Gandhinagar after inaugurating a mega exhibition on the contribution of state-owned companies to nation-building. He said that now is the time for the PSUs to show that they are very keen to improve their professionalism as much as you have done between 1991 and now.

Referring to the new PSE policy announced in 2021, the Finance Minister said that the public sector undertakings should be aware of competition from the private sector to whom the government has opened up strategic sectors. After 1991, PSEs started competing with private sector entities. Sitharaman termed the economic reforms introduced in the country in 1991 as a game-changer. The exhibition titled 'Nation Building and CPSEs', which will open on June 10, has stalls of around 75 central government companies like Coal India, GAIL India, NTPC, Steel Authority of India Limited, and Indian Oil Corporation Limited.

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