Got this response in an email from Mr T P Balakrishnan. Took the gentleman's permission to share here. Makes for a fascinating read: Anecdotal (hence engaging) and holds up a real life lesson on how honesty and integrity are rewarded.
"It was an interesting article on PSU
Whilst I strongly advocate the privatisation of PSU I also feel strongly that the remaining PSU should be given the total autonomy to perform
Recent structure of the national infrastructure bank should be followed
Let me tell you from my experience inn working in PSU for over 25 years including 3 years in the ministry that there is no shortage of managerial talent.
Let me illustrate two example from my personal experience.
Before that I must tell you the advice I got from my maternal uncle in may 1962 when I was still a intern in mine.
His advice was in the context of his reaction to his minister regarding the strike in Kolkata port. He told his minster I have given you what I think is the best advice in relation to the Kolkata port. It is upto to you accept or follow your populist line and banged the telephone down
Next day evening two gentlemen came to his house. One was TTK and other was the minister concerned. From what I could understand was the minister expressed his desire to follow the advice given by my uncle
Out of curiosity I asked my uncle about his courage in facing the minister
His advice in short was “ you must be competent, convinced of your actions, must have the courage to face the consequences and most importantly your integrity should beyond any doubt.”
I have followed this as my moola mantra in all my dealings.
I was a chief of marketing in CIL the company and division known for its corruption.
I had an occasion to change the linkage of coal from road to rail. This was the year there was heavy rain in Singrauli coalfield and bridge was damaged.
In road transport there was heavy corruption. Moments I changed the linkage to rail chairman CIL and NCL were up against arms. There was pressure not only internally but also from the ministry.
Even a show cause notice was issued for having exceeded my authority
My reply was equally strong and whole thing subsided
Towards end of my career I was C/MD HEC Ranchi
We were under heavy pressure for cash flows..
We decided at the board level that we would monetise the quarter in this colony.
The valuation was don by Batliboi auditors
We decided that the money would be given by the PPF of the employees and the quarter would be handed over to them. There was no cash transaction.
Whilst it was appreciated by the benificiaries it was objected by the unions for the obvious reasons
In fact the most vociferous objection came from the private secretary to the minister.
I was summoned by him to Delhi and no uncertain terms told to withdraw the cashless schemes.
I told him the transaction are almost complete and I would not oblige him anyway
The moral is that you should have the courage and competence and integrity
I am sure banks other PSU if given the autonomy and rights people selected then they could also compete with private sector
Let me share with you on technical parameters SAIL, NTPC, Bhel etc can compete with the best in the world
Mr. Padmanabhan has extensively through his article highlighted the history, background and the present of the disinvestment policy. By bringing a balanced view of the table, sir has informed us and encouraged us to be more aware of such topics. I truly believe that privatisation did provide great opportunities to the masses inculcating self reliance and and equality, however later, the condition was merely restricted to paper and it couldn’t fulfil its main objectives. They incurred huge losses and the condition was miserable.
I am glad I could get the opportunity to read such an informative article that helped me get insights into the aspect of union budget.
Mr Anil Padmanabhan has very lucidly elaborated on how the privatisation efforts over the past four decades have not yielded any noteworthy results, barring a few success stories.
The bold steps taken by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will ensure that the loss making PSUs are no longer a drain on the government's resources.
In a nutshell, the article is drafted in a beautiful manner that any student with elementary knowledge of economics can grasp. It has set the tone and struck the right chord as regards the new approach of the central government towards PSUs. However, besides Air India, more examples could've been included like the banking sector where the public sector is no longer relevant.
Overall the article provides great insights into a very important aspect of the union budget.
Mr.Balakrishnans response is very inspirational, encouraging and motivating.It clearly highlights that basic good values of integrity and honesty are always rewarded and appreciated.Anil , all your articles are very insightful and well researched. Looking forward to the next!!
Hats off to you Anil, that you zeroed in on a very critical part of the budget. Without certain restructuring of PSU's the economy will be held back by some dead weight.
In a fantastic analysis of the privatization policy of the Union Government, sir has integrated the history and the present of the disinvestment policies under different government regimes, and has linked the two quite well.
All in all, the article has provided a very insightful as well as a balanced view into our reform strategies.
Interesting article! we cannot deny the important role PSUs have played in our progress.They have provided self reliance, equal opportunities of growth and prosperity to all sections, regional equality, employment opportunities and export promotion, import substitution etc.But by 1990s their performance was miserable and they were making huge losses.Shastri in post Nehru era did try to bring some radical change in the economic paradigm.
6th five year plan you have mentioned(1980_85) under rajiv gandhi focussed on industrial development and gave a push to information technology. But as you rightly say Privatisation is the need of the hour.
The term " reforms by stealth" is v interesting. It reminds me of agricultural reforms which the government is trying to do to fulfill the objective of One Nation One Market.There are many structural changes desired in our economy for real progress of urban and rural poor.Lets hope with liberalization, sale of Air India and other disinvestments our govt gets resources and there is optimum utilization.
Will eatch your recommendation C.B Strike on Hotstar!!
The prosperity of TISCO and of steel makers like JSW and some others, is largely due to the high manufacturing cost of Steel Authority of India. Air India served the nation in a monopoly situation but could not withstand the price competition from budget airlines. The cost operation was further increased by the complimentary services rendered to the political class. This was attempted to be offset by compulsory use of Air India by Government employees for LTA at a very high price. The reason for continuing till now was to somehow keep the facility intact for the political rulers. But now the debt servicing has gone through the sky.
Got this response in an email from Mr T P Balakrishnan. Took the gentleman's permission to share here. Makes for a fascinating read: Anecdotal (hence engaging) and holds up a real life lesson on how honesty and integrity are rewarded.
"It was an interesting article on PSU
Whilst I strongly advocate the privatisation of PSU I also feel strongly that the remaining PSU should be given the total autonomy to perform
Recent structure of the national infrastructure bank should be followed
Let me tell you from my experience inn working in PSU for over 25 years including 3 years in the ministry that there is no shortage of managerial talent.
Let me illustrate two example from my personal experience.
Before that I must tell you the advice I got from my maternal uncle in may 1962 when I was still a intern in mine.
His advice was in the context of his reaction to his minister regarding the strike in Kolkata port. He told his minster I have given you what I think is the best advice in relation to the Kolkata port. It is upto to you accept or follow your populist line and banged the telephone down
Next day evening two gentlemen came to his house. One was TTK and other was the minister concerned. From what I could understand was the minister expressed his desire to follow the advice given by my uncle
Out of curiosity I asked my uncle about his courage in facing the minister
His advice in short was “ you must be competent, convinced of your actions, must have the courage to face the consequences and most importantly your integrity should beyond any doubt.”
I have followed this as my moola mantra in all my dealings.
I was a chief of marketing in CIL the company and division known for its corruption.
I had an occasion to change the linkage of coal from road to rail. This was the year there was heavy rain in Singrauli coalfield and bridge was damaged.
In road transport there was heavy corruption. Moments I changed the linkage to rail chairman CIL and NCL were up against arms. There was pressure not only internally but also from the ministry.
Even a show cause notice was issued for having exceeded my authority
My reply was equally strong and whole thing subsided
Towards end of my career I was C/MD HEC Ranchi
We were under heavy pressure for cash flows..
We decided at the board level that we would monetise the quarter in this colony.
The valuation was don by Batliboi auditors
We decided that the money would be given by the PPF of the employees and the quarter would be handed over to them. There was no cash transaction.
Whilst it was appreciated by the benificiaries it was objected by the unions for the obvious reasons
In fact the most vociferous objection came from the private secretary to the minister.
I was summoned by him to Delhi and no uncertain terms told to withdraw the cashless schemes.
I told him the transaction are almost complete and I would not oblige him anyway
The moral is that you should have the courage and competence and integrity
I am sure banks other PSU if given the autonomy and rights people selected then they could also compete with private sector
Let me share with you on technical parameters SAIL, NTPC, Bhel etc can compete with the best in the world
Sorry for the long write up
Regards
Balakrishnan"
Mr. Padmanabhan has extensively through his article highlighted the history, background and the present of the disinvestment policy. By bringing a balanced view of the table, sir has informed us and encouraged us to be more aware of such topics. I truly believe that privatisation did provide great opportunities to the masses inculcating self reliance and and equality, however later, the condition was merely restricted to paper and it couldn’t fulfil its main objectives. They incurred huge losses and the condition was miserable.
I am glad I could get the opportunity to read such an informative article that helped me get insights into the aspect of union budget.
-Shreya
Mr Anil Padmanabhan has very lucidly elaborated on how the privatisation efforts over the past four decades have not yielded any noteworthy results, barring a few success stories.
The bold steps taken by finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman will ensure that the loss making PSUs are no longer a drain on the government's resources.
In a nutshell, the article is drafted in a beautiful manner that any student with elementary knowledge of economics can grasp. It has set the tone and struck the right chord as regards the new approach of the central government towards PSUs. However, besides Air India, more examples could've been included like the banking sector where the public sector is no longer relevant.
Overall the article provides great insights into a very important aspect of the union budget.
Regards
Pratishtha
Thank you Pratishtha.
Mr.Balakrishnans response is very inspirational, encouraging and motivating.It clearly highlights that basic good values of integrity and honesty are always rewarded and appreciated.Anil , all your articles are very insightful and well researched. Looking forward to the next!!
Hats off to you Anil, that you zeroed in on a very critical part of the budget. Without certain restructuring of PSU's the economy will be held back by some dead weight.
Thank you Gautam 😊
In a fantastic analysis of the privatization policy of the Union Government, sir has integrated the history and the present of the disinvestment policies under different government regimes, and has linked the two quite well.
All in all, the article has provided a very insightful as well as a balanced view into our reform strategies.
Interesting article! we cannot deny the important role PSUs have played in our progress.They have provided self reliance, equal opportunities of growth and prosperity to all sections, regional equality, employment opportunities and export promotion, import substitution etc.But by 1990s their performance was miserable and they were making huge losses.Shastri in post Nehru era did try to bring some radical change in the economic paradigm.
6th five year plan you have mentioned(1980_85) under rajiv gandhi focussed on industrial development and gave a push to information technology. But as you rightly say Privatisation is the need of the hour.
The term " reforms by stealth" is v interesting. It reminds me of agricultural reforms which the government is trying to do to fulfill the objective of One Nation One Market.There are many structural changes desired in our economy for real progress of urban and rural poor.Lets hope with liberalization, sale of Air India and other disinvestments our govt gets resources and there is optimum utilization.
Will eatch your recommendation C.B Strike on Hotstar!!
Waiting for next article!
Regards Vandana bahl.
Cost operation to read operation cost.
The prosperity of TISCO and of steel makers like JSW and some others, is largely due to the high manufacturing cost of Steel Authority of India. Air India served the nation in a monopoly situation but could not withstand the price competition from budget airlines. The cost operation was further increased by the complimentary services rendered to the political class. This was attempted to be offset by compulsory use of Air India by Government employees for LTA at a very high price. The reason for continuing till now was to somehow keep the facility intact for the political rulers. But now the debt servicing has gone through the sky.