Dis-investment is a good option? I feel, YES!

With globalization and privatisation being the song of the globe in the 21st century, I feel, there is no need for the Government to get itself involved in carrying on business and lock its money by holding major stake in the companies capital.

It is has been seen that the Government companies/public sector companies are not professionally managed and their functioning is a question in itself. Also, government holding a major stake in the companies gives scope for politics and to satisfy the vested interests of the politicians.

I surely feel, that the Government should divest its stake and unlock the capital invested and re-deploy the same capital in the economy through ‘government spending’. The Government may well keep their ‘Director Nominees’ on the board of public companies which may be economically sensitive like ONGC, BHEL, SAIL, etc. but holding a major stake is not required since there a good number of regulations in place which can help it keep a control on the functioning of the companies in general.

However, there is no need to divest fully, but to keep a minimum stake so as to have a healthy ‘public-private partnership’ regime, which the Government is looking at from the recent past.

Basically, I feel, the Government’s primary job is to govern the business and not to do business in real sense. Government, through different regulators have been assigned the task to govern and regulate the business and so there is no need to get itself involve too much in doing business. However, if at all it feels that the companies are not functioning in the best interest of its stakeholders and public, it can very well get its hold through Constitutional and Company Law provisions.

Let the economy be function openly and the Government should maintain the doctrine of laissez faire.

- Anand Wadadekar
Pune