I read a newspaper editorial titled ”Disastrous Disinvestment policy” which decries the move to disinvest profit-making public sector enterprises. A closer look at the PSUs on the chopping block reveals the flawed thinking on the part of the Govt whose only objective appears to be to handover profit-making state-owned companies to the favoured corporate groups. The government has failed the public sector by too much interference, reducing the autonomy of the management in respect of pricing, employment, purchases and marketing etc. If you recall, the dismantling of PSUs under the guise of disinvestment began during NDA1, which ended up disinvesting 7 PSUs, and the present dispensation has disinvested as many as 23 PSUs disregarding the interests of agitating employees. It is ironic that our PM who claims to have sold tea on Railway platform, during his childhood, should be contemplating to sell the very same Railways.  And I also feel, it’s preposterous to privatise LIC, an iconic organisation which is the pride of India with over 40 crores policyholders, having assists worth 30 lakh crores? Yes, its a fact that there are some inherent problems, like excess workforce, obsolete technology, inefficiency, lack of accountability etc. The public sector as such, is nobody’s baby, competition from the private sector, politically influenced unions. In my opinion, the burning problems of poverty and unemployment cannot be addressed without due support from the public sector. The government needs to change its policy on PSUs from disinvestment to revival and sell only those enterprises which cannot be revived at all. It also warrants a re-look at the move to sell of PSUs to raise resources. There is also an urgent need to strengthen the independence and autonomy of PSU boards.