Meghwal suggests PPP route for utilising idle PSU assets

Government can use the PPP mode and global bidding process to optimally utilise idle assets of PSUs with a view to promote skill development and generate new jobs, newly appointed Minister of State for Finance Arjun Ram Meghwal has said.

"There is a lot of scope for the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM). Focus should be on investment and using the PSU assets for employment generation. We need to engage the youth, talent of the country and offer them better services to increase the economic productivity," he told PTI.

PSU assets, he said, are "national property" and should be put to use to create scope for skill development and setting up of new institutions.

"It can also be done through PPP (public private partnership) mode or global bidding. There are huge lands lying vacant at prime locations," he said.

Citing an example, Meghwal said, idle space lying vacant at telephone exchanges can be utilised for setting up skill development centres.

"In good old days telephone exchanges required a lot of space and with the advancement of technology and spectrum, the space requirement has come down drastically," he said.

Similarly, he said, railway property around small stations can also be put to productive use.

"There is lot of space, shade. So can't we open a technical institution like ITIIJ This is asset management. Assets which are not properly utilised or lying idle where government money is involved should be put to productive use" he said.

In Budget 2016-17, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley renamed the Department of Disinvestment as DIPAM and expanded their scope of work to managing and monetising idle PSU assets for funding investments.

"We will encourage CPSEs to divest individual assets like land, manufacturing unit to release their asset value for making investments in new projects.

"We will adopt a comprehensive approach for efficient management of the government investment in CPSEs by addressing issued such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares," Jaitley had said.