World is moving in the direction of eGovernance and e-commerce: Anant Geete

Today world is moving in the direction of eGovernance, eBusiness and e-commerce. The PSUs in the country can’t be left behind, says Anant Geete, Union Minister of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises. In conversation with Anoop Verma…

In your opinion what is the key challenge that the Public Sector Enterprises in India face?
One of the major challenges that the Public Sector, and the country in general faces, is environmentalism, which comes in the way of every development project. To those who are environmentally conscious, I would like to say that there is nothing wrong with being concerned about the environment. I too am concerned about the environment. I too would like do something to ensure that the balance of the environment is maintained.

However, we must accept that the environment exists for the benefit of humans, humans don’t exist for the environment. If humans are unable to live, then of what use is the environment?
There is the view that while Western countries are taking significant steps to safeguard their environment. India is not doing enough.
We need to realise that the Western countries started promoting environmentalism only after they had fully developed their own society. India is not a developed country. We can’t afford to practice the kind of environmentalist views that are emanating from the Western world at present. How can we ignore the fact that currently more than 70% of the country is living in the rural areas, where people lack most of the basic amenities that the West takes for granted! We need to ask ourselves the question—who is funding those who are bringing this extreme brand of environmentalism to this country? Obviously the money is coming from the foreign countries. Now we need to ask ourselves, what is the intention of those who are providing the funds to these so-called environmentalists? Are these environmentalists working with the aim of safeguarding the environment or is their real intention to thwart the development of India?

What steps is the government of India taking to ensure that this brand of environmentalism does not become a stumbling block in the country’s development?
Lot of serious discussion is happening in the government on this issue. Since the NDA government came to power, the Ministry of Environment has granted speedy clearance to many projects that had been blocked by the earlier government due to the pressure from various environmentalist groups. Many of these blocked projects, were related to defence of the country. The projects for the defence of the nation are of great importance, we can’t block them for any reason. There is need for us to think on these issues with a broad mind. I am all for safeguarding the environment but not at the cost of development. If environmentalism comes in the way of development then it must be regarded as a conspiracy against India and Indians.

The government of India has launched the Make in India campaign for making India a global manufacturing hub. What steps can the Public Sector in the country take to ensure the success of the Make in India initiative?
My ministry is striving consistently for ensuring the success of the Make in India campaign. We have taken a number of initiatives to ensure that the CPSEs are in position of having production of global quality standards. We are trying to attract substantial capital and technological investment in India. Recently we sanctioned Rs. 930 crore for a pilot scheme that will enable industries in the capital goods sector to be globally competitive. The government of India’s contribution in this pilot scheme is Rs. 581.22 crore and the balance amount is coming from a consortium of industries.

What are the main components of this pilot scheme?
Under this scheme we will be starting centres of excellence for technology development at IIT Delhi, IIT Mumbai, IIT Chennai and IIT Kharagpur. For this the sanctioned amount is Rs. 312.5 crores. In Bangalore we are starting an Integrated Industrial Infrastructure Facilities Park for Machine Tool. For this the outlay is Rs. 400 crore. Then two Common Engineering Facilities Centres will be developed. The first will come up at Surat, Gujarat, and for the second we are in process of finalising a suitable location. The budget for this is Rs. 61.2 crore. We are also planning a Testing and Certification Centre for construction equipment and earthmoving machinery, for which we have budgeted Rs. 100 crore, and a Technology Acquisition Programme, which has a budget of Rs. 50 crore. The work on all these projects has already been started. In my opinion, this pilot scheme will be very effective in promoting the small, medium and micro industries.

Today the Chinese producers are making major inroads into the manufacturing sector of almost every country, including India. What steps can be taken to ensure that our Public Sector can compete with the Chinese manufacturers?
Today the Indian industry faces a substantial threat from China. When I went to New York for attending the UN General Assembly at the time of the 11th Lok Sabha, I discovered that the green coloured Statue of Liberty, that many shops there sell for $10, were carrying the “Made in China” label. In India, some of our Public Sector Enterprises are facing tough competition from Chinese manufacturers. There is pressure on BHEL. There is pressure on steel companies. The Public Sector can compete with China only when we empower their managements to take the appropriate decision for growth of their organisations. We are already doing that. It is in the national interest to empower our Public Sector so that they can become globally competitive.

There are 32 Public Sector companies under Department of Heavy Industry. Out of these 11 are not doing well. What steps are you taking to revive these 11 companies?
Out of eleven PSUs that are not doing well, we are planning to close down 5. The proposal for closing these PSUs after providing VRS to the employees has already been sent. For rest of the PSUs that are loss making, we are currently conducting a process of evaluation. Those PSUs that can be revived will be retained, the rest will be closed down. However, I would like to clarify that we are determined to safeguard the interests of the workers. Whatever the workers can earn, if they remain in service till the retirement age of 58 or 60 years, they will get in their VRS settlement.

BHEL, which comes under Department of Heavy Industry, is doing very well in the area of R&D. It is filing almost one patent per day. But even BHEL is suffering due to Chinese competition and shortage of orders. What else can BHEL do to stay competitive?
As far as quality of manufactured goods is concerned, BHEL is far ahead of China. They have very good internal systems. Their ERP is world class. The company is not doing as well as it should because of the problems in the coal sector. The power companies are not running to their full capacity as they lack coal, and hence they are unable to place orders for new plants with BHEL. Today BHEL is running at 50% of its installed capacity because of the coal related problems in the power sector. However, things are going to improve in next 5 to 6 months. The problems in the coal sector have been sorted out. After the Supreme Court judgement, the cabinet has made an announcement that the coal blocks will be reallocated.

What steps is the Ministry of Heavy Industry and Public Enterprises taking to implement IT for improving internal management?
We are making efforts in that direction. Information Technology is important because it brings efficiency and transparency. Many Public Sector companies under my ministry have already implemented ERP systems. In the Department of Heavy Industry, we have started eOffice as a pilot project. It In next two years, the scope of eOffice will be expanded further and we will have a completely paperless system of working. We are paying lot of attention to this. Today world is moving in the direction of eGovernance, eBusiness and e-commerce. The PSUs in the country can’t be left behind.