Description

Public sector enterprises were seen as white elephants and cash cows during the 1960s 70s and 80s. After the liberalization from the early 90s the continuous losses, operational and administrative inefficiencies have created a number of problems for them. However at the same time, so many companies in the public sector are still doing well and contributing significantly to the exchequer, even though the dominance is in the hands of the private sector. This is because of their strengths like clear balance sheets and accountability and the fact that they are in the core sectors. In the stock markets too PSUs have been playing a pervasive role in the post liberalization scenario. Inspite of the above, there are many issues that being raised by the market and public need to be addressed. They are in regard to profitability, liquidity, dividend pay out, large and diverse investments, obsolete technology, lesser market orientation, over- regulation and control by government, etc. The question that arises here therefore, is whether the public sector enterprises are performing in the markets or not.