AT the present stage of the attack on CPSUs, we must clearly understand the economic, political and ideological dimensions behind the public sector policy of the present NDA Government at the centre.

SYSTEMIC CRISIS OF CAPITALISM

The economic angle of the privatisation onslaught must be understood in the perspective of the continuously aggravating systemic crisis of capitalism that has gripped the entire capitalist world. As always, in the present economic crisis also, the CPSUs are the easy prey to provide resources to the government to address the crisis. Selling out public sector assets to mitigate the economic crisis has been rightly termed as ‘selling family sliver to pay the butler”.

The political and ideological angles behind the disastrous drive of privatisation have got explicit expression in the words of Rajiv Kumar, during his tenure as Vice Chairman, NITI Aayog, “Offloading Government equity in public sector units, […] is not merely a means for revenue generation. It is also a means for giving greater space and opportunity to the private sector. … The biggest change now is that the political leadership at the highest level (read Prime Minister) has made it clear…”

Further the political mission is to send a signal to private capital, both foreign and domestic, that the Modi Government is the safest heaven for private capital with zero tolerance towards public sector. Moreover, it (Modi Govt) is demonstratively dedicated to the doctrine of neo-liberalism which is aggressively against even any remnant of the public sector.

The abolition of the Planning Commission and constitution of the notorious NITI Aayog by Narendra Modi is also neo-liberal doctrine driven. There are inerasable facts and figures capturing the significant role played by the Planning Commission in planning, financing and building of CPSUs in India, mostly in basic strategic sectors since 1951.

THE RETROGRADE ‘NEW DISINVESTMENT POLICY’ 

That the desperate intention of the present government is to totally privatise CPSUs is crystal clear in the quotation from the ‘New Public Sector Policy document’: “CPSEs in the Strategic Sector/Non-Strategic Sector are to be taken up for privatisation, merger, subsidiarisation with another CPSE or for closure. Only a bare minimum presence of CPSEs in the aforesaid Strategic Sector is to be maintained.” In order to sell out to private business 74% share of CPSUs, the Finance Ministry’s Economic Survey for 2025-26 presented to Parliament has suggested several destructive enabling steps to push this anti-national ‘Project Privatisation’.

The steps it suggests are as follows. The government would amend the Company’s Act to provide that CPSUs in which government holds only 26% share after divesting 74% may still be defined as “Government Company”. According to the existing Act, a firm qualifies as a government company only if at least 51% of its equity is held by the government. This is desperation of the government to hoodwink the people of the country and self-deception as well. Even an idiot knows that majority equity holder of any company is the real owner.

On February 12-13, 2026, a Parliamentary Standing Committee led by BJP MP Bhartruhari Mahtab has urged the government to accelerate the implementation of the New Public Sector Policy. The Committee reportedly said the new policy is seen as a paradigm shift towards ‘fiscal discipline’ (?) and commented, the tangible outcomes have remained “sluggish” and called for immediate action to bridge the gap between policy goals and execution!

In the meantime, to monetise huge land assets of CPSUs all over the country, the government has already established an exclusive land-grabbing authority called ‘National Land Monetisation Corporation’ (NLMC). Obviously prime CPSU land shall be priority target of NMP-02. Public Sector Enterprises identified for NMP-02 include those in Highways, Railways, Civil Aviation, Ports, Petroleum, Power, Coalmines, Other Mines, Telecom and Tourism.

The Modi government’s decision to sell out 74% shares of PSUs under the retrograde revised public sector policy would totally eliminate the public sector in the country. And the route map under NMP–02 to actualise the privatisation project will be a big bonanza for private business giants, both domestic and foreign.

NATIONAL ASSET MONETISATION PIPELINE POLICY - 02

The NMP is, of course, an out and out anti-national     policy pronounced by the Modi Government to hand over the most commercially lucrative public sector assets to big private business houses of Modi’s choice through a dubious mechanism architected by none other than the destroyer of public sector - the NITI Aayog. NMP-02 has been designed to actualise the revised public policy of the Modi Government.

Although deceptive propaganda is pushed by the government and mischievously articulated by the pen-pushers of the capitalist class about the economic ‘virtues’ of the National Asset Monetisation Pipeline (NMP), the stark reality is that the NMP is a gift to big private corporates, both domestic and foreign, facilitating instantaneous profit with ‘zero’ investment and without waiting for any gestation period. The public sector assets being put into the private pipelines are core and strategic in character with a consistent record of incremental physical and financial performance including guaranteed market.

UNION BUDGET 2025-26

The Union Budget 2025-26 has announced the launch of Asset Monetization Pipeline 2.0  (NMP-02). It said, “Building on the success of the first Asset Monetization Plan announced in 2021, the second plan Regulatory and fiscal measures will be fine turned to support the Plan.” NMP-02 targets to achieve Rs 16.72 lakh crore from monetisation of assets, in the course of   financial years 2026 to 2030. An atrocious blue print and route map for implementation of NMP-02 has already been prepared and published by NITI Aayog. A capsular paraphrase from the Aayog document is appended below.

According to the Aayog, NMP 1.0 achieved 89% of its target, amounting to Rs 5.3 lakh crore. The lion’s share of the capital has been extracted by outsourcing the high profit earning assets to the private sector.

Like NMP-01, NMP-02 shall also resort to asset monetisation through transfer of CPSU assets, divestment of CPSU equity, securitisation of cash flows or strategic commercial auctions. The bankruptcy and desperation of the government is exposed from the shocking fact that NMP 2.0 shall focus on core assets only.  Of the various core assets, those that are currently generating revenue or those which have substantially completed facilities shall be suitably augmented. So the excellently run, profit earning CPSUs has been again targeted as was done in NMP-01.

GROSS REVENUE, NET PROFIT & CONTRIBUTIONS TO EXCHEQUER

As compared to FY 2023-24, the Gross Revenue in FY 2024-25 increased from ₹36.08 lakh crore to ₹37.01 lakh crore. The Net Profit of the operating CPSEs has been continuously increasing. During the five-year period FY2020-21 to FY2024-25 the net profit has increased from ₹1.66 lakh crore to ₹2.91 lakh crore.

Considering the sustainable incremental contribution by CPSUs to the central exchequer, the mindless disinvestment policy of the government is simply suicidal. CPSUs have been paying huge capital to the government by way of excise duty, customs duty, GST, corporate tax, interest on central government loans, dividend, other duties and taxes. As per Public Enterprises Survey 2024-25 the cumulative contribution in the past 5 years is ₹24.03 lakh crore. In FY 2024-25, CPSEs contributed ₹4.94 lakh crore to the central exchequer.

According to the government’s own admission in the PSE Survey for 2024-25, “CPSEs play a critical role in its contribution to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility). The activities covered in CSR are; Eradicating Hunger & Poverty, Healthcare and Sanitation, Rural Development, Education & Skill Development, Contribution to funds set up by Central Government, Disaster Management, Environmental Sustainability, Empowerment of Women & Other Economically Backward sections, Sports, Arts & Culture, Armed Forces Welfare etc. For the past 5 years, a cumulative total of ₹24,520 crores have been contributed by CPSEs in CSR.”

Today, when the Indian rupee has hit an all-time low, it is most significant to say that CPSEs have been contributing in earning precious foreign exchanges. A cumulative total of ₹6.95 lakh crore has been earned by CPSEs during the past 5 years. In FY 2024-25 alone, CPSEs earned ₹1.57 lakh crore in foreign currencies.

EXPOSE THE SUICIDAL CPSE POLICIES

The ‘New Public Sector Policy’ launched by the Government is actually the action plan to implement Narendra Modi’s infamous announcement while addressing a conference of the Chambers of Commerce: ‘Public is born to die’. Such policies are obviously integrally linked with the systemic crisis and the offshoot of the monopoly stage of capitalism dominated by the Cronies of the ruling polity. 

The aggressive Neo-liberal Government is doggedly pushing such a policy of loot and plunder of national assets demonstrating their ideological class desperation. The diversionary tactics of the rightist party in power has de-activated the consciousness of those who have built these assets and are supposed to decisively fight to defeat such anti-national policies. As we must remember and defend the progressive history of our country, so too we must remember the role played by the public sector in economic reconstruction of post-Independence India and fight to defend the public sector.