Government to take care of job loss, other facilities in strategic divestment: Anurag Thakur

New Delhi: The government on Monday said that concerns related to job loss and other facilities will be taken care of when a central public sector company, working in a strategic sector, is divested.

Minister of State for Finance Anurag Singh Thakur, during the Question Hour in the Rajya Sabha, said the government has a “clear and transparent” disinvestment policy.

Four sectors of atomic energy, space and defence; transport and telecommunications; power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and financial services would be strategic sectors. The rest will be non-strategic sectors, he said.

“If central public sector enterprises are given for privatisation or for strategic sale, in the sale purchase agreement to be entered, it will be decided that there won’t be job loss of people and all these facilities are provided,” Thakur said.

The minister further said he personally believes and the policy also clearly states that the divestment will bring investment, technology infusion, job opportunities.

“Overall, there will be more job opportunities and not reduction in employment,” he added.

The minister was responding to Samajwadi Party leader Vishambhar Prasad Nishad’s query on reservation and other facilities like provident fund in PSUs which would be privatised.

Nishad also asked a supplementary question on the number of PSUs that the government has formed since 2014 and created job opportunities for people.

The Union minister reiterated that the divestment policy is clear and transparent.

“In strategic sectors, at least one company we keep to run in the interest of the country. If there are many companies in a particular sector, then there is no need for the government to be in that business. The government has no business to be in the business,” he added.

For the 2021-22 fiscal, the government has kept the disinvestment target at Rs 1.75 lakh crore. Out of which, Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions and Rs 75,000 crore would come as CPSE disinvestment receipts.