Public sector units: Let's re-evaluate their utility

State-run enterprises, once victims of dogma, have proven good for the government's fiscal health. Granting them greater space for capex could aid the greening of Indian industry now

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Public sector units (PSUs), contrary to the perception of their being anachronistic relics, often do serve a critical role in the economy, as Indian fiscal data reveals. It might be time to jettison dogmas that have outlived their utility and useful to leverage what exists, rather than stacking all our chips on a borrowed idea. Apathy towards PSUs was seeded during the Thatcher-Reagan era, when a trans-Atlantic ideological convergence focused on reducing the state's direct or indirect presence in various sectors, but mostly in industry. A relook at the state's role was spurred by the 1989 collapse of the Berlin Wall and 1991 break-up of the Soviet Union, with globalization a force that sought to relax state control over key parts of the economy. India also bought into this global trend, albeit part of a market embrace brought on by a balance-ofpayments crisis. There have been frequent questions about the utility of PSUs since.