The corona virus has brought a big problem for the already undergoing Indian economy. But now it seems that the government has decided to save the Indian economy through privatization. According to a report by India Today, the government has decided to promote privatization in India on a large scale. For this, big government companies of India will be sold. This includes some big banks of India.
Even before this, there were attempts to privatize India. But she was a failure. Let us tell you for the information that privatization has been started in the railways in India. And many trains have been handed over to private hands today. Of which Tejas is the biggest name.
Government wants to save the Indian economy through privatization
For the information, let us know that due to Corona virus, the Indian economy is going through a difficult phase at this time. And now the government has no money left to spend
In such a situation, personal taxation is now the only option available to the government. Coronavirus has already brought a new problem to the economy which is already struggling due to demonetisation and GST.
According to the news written in India Today, the Government of India wants to collect revenue of about two and a half million crores by privatization. The fiscal deficit in India is estimated to be around 4.50 lakh crore. In such a situation, the government wants to reduce its deficit to some extent by privatization.
However, now it will be interesting to see how much participation the government has in privatization. That is, if one sells a company, then how much participation does the government have in that company. And how much does privatization help the government in raising the Indian economy once again? It will also be interesting to see.
List of government companies is being made for privatization
All the government companies in India and which are to be privatized. A list of them is being made. The NITI Aayog has already said that privatization has become absolutely necessary to improve the Indian economy. And for this the government should take steps. The NITI Aayog has recommended that at least 2 public sector banks in India should be handed over completely in private hands.
Apart from this, the railway airline company Air India Gas Pipeline is the electricity department and all such departments where privatization is to be done. Apart from this there are also big companies like Hindustan Petroleum. Which can be privatized in the coming days.
The government has written a letter to all the ministries asking them to give details of all the government companies present here. And which are the government companies that cannot be privatized. Tell me about this too. A list is being made for this. And a ministry committee has also been formed.
Government wants to privatize almost every government company
If you are thinking that only a few departments will be privatized. So you are thinking wrong. The government has made up its mind to privatize almost every government company. Which includes companies from the Highway Authority of India Limited to the electricity department companies. Apart from this, the government is also going to privatize petroleum companies. Due to which the government benefits millions of crores of rupees every year.
About 10000 km of highways authority can be given to private companies. Apart from this, the central government also wants to promote privatization in the power grid sector. Some of the railway routes will be given to private hands in the early stages. After that this privatization can be promoted gradually. Recently some railway stations were assigned to private hands. And it was said that this would bring new investment in Railways. The government will also get its benefits.
At the same time, the Airport Authority in India has also started giving its airports in private hands. This includes airports like Jaipur and Ahmedabad. In the next phase, the airports of Lucknow and Chandigarh can be given in private hands. However, it will be interesting to see if Delhi’s Indira Gandhi Airport is given in private hands. For information, Indira Gandhi Airport of Delhi is one of the largest airports in India.
Government companies can be given in private hands at very low prices
India’s economy is going through a difficult phase due to coronavirus. And the prices of almost every property have reached a low level at this time. In such a situation, if the government companies are privatized now, they will be sold at very low prices.
In such a situation, the question arises whether the government will hand over the loss to the government companies or not. Experts are assuming that if the government has handed over government companies in private hands at this time, it will get about 50% less than the price of these government companies. Which is nothing short of a major setback for the government.
If India’s economy had been growing at 8% pace, the government would have got a good price for these companies. But at present, India’s economy is growing at a rate of around 11%.
In such a situation, it will be interesting to see what decision the government takes regarding privatization? The same experts are also saying that they can pressure the government to hand over full ownership of government companies to private companies and even lower prices.
The same few government companies are such that selling has become a compulsion for the AAP government. Of which Air India is one. The government wants to sell Air India at any condition by the end of this year. The government even wants to sell its entire stake in private hands from Air India. Apart from this, the government has also said that if a private partner buys Air India Company, then the government is ready to bear whatever debt is on this company.
But at this time the aviation industry in the world is at a standstill. And international flying is also closed. In such a situation, it will be interesting to see which company comes to buy Air India at this time? There are a large number of government companies which have become white elephants for the government. And selling them has become a compulsion for the government. But companies which are currently making huge profits. And giving benefits of millions of crores of rupees to the government. Why are they being sold? Do not understand it.
Privatization may be heavily opposed
There can also be heavy opposition to privatization. The government has to be ready to face it. Recently it was decided to privatize in a big way in the power department in Uttar Pradesh. But the power workers went on strike and there was a power failure across Uttar Pradesh. In such a situation, the government may face political and public opposition on a large scale here as well.
Tell you for information, people have already been raising questions about privatization on the government. In such a situation, if privatization is done on such a large scale, it can become difficult for the government in the coming days. Rahul Gandhi has already said that if the government privatizes, we will oppose it. And we will stop privatization as soon as it comes to power. And all the government companies that have been privatized will be made back to government.
It would be interesting to see how the government faces political and public opposition during privatization. However the government can complete privatization by saying that we are not promoting privatization. Rather, we are monetizing government assets. So that the government can get additional income. The government had said the same at the time of privatization of railways.
Government needs to be careful while privatizing
Experts are saying that if the government has to privatize government companies, then the government should also take some precautions during this.
The government should look at which government assets private companies are bidding for. And not for which government assets. Suppose, private companies bid for such government companies which are already in profit. So it will be a deficit deal for the government. Private companies can leave government companies which are already in loss. Or there is no hope in their benefit in the coming few years. This can prove to be an additional burden for the government. In such a situation, the government must keep these things in mind while privatizing.
The same experts are also saying that the government should also take care that only one or two private companies do not create monopoly in the country. If this happens then it will not be right for India’s economy. At the same time, in terms of consumers, monopoly is not good in any way. As we see happening in the telecom department right now.
