The Hindu : National : Pranab allays fears over privatisation

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Pranab allays fears over privatisation

Special Correspondent

KOCHI: Union Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee has allayed fears over the privatisation of public sector units. Inaugurating the 29th plenary session of the Indian National Trade Union Congress (INTUC) here on Saturday, he said there was propaganda that the government was going to privatise the entire spectrum of public sector units, which was far from the truth. Mr. Mukherjee said there was no plan to dilute the government stake in profit-making public sector units. “The policy of the government is clear. It is to strengthen the public sector enterprises.”

He pointed out that the recent divestment in two public sector units — Oil India Limited and National Hydroelectric Power Corporation — resulted in their share prices going up multi-fold. Much of the shares were taken by other public sector units.

Mr. Mukherjee said international bodies such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank recognised India’s contributions in handling the global financial meltdown. India and China, the two Asian giants, were going to register a growth rate of over 6 and 7 per cent respectively. The farsightedness of the leadership helped the country in mitigating the impact of the crisis, he added. He said India had not contributed to the world economic crisis, adding that the world had to suffer because of the crisis that originated from the greed of some bankers who indulged in unethical practices.

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