Search the Internet          Tips  Sites: Finance, Investment

Fernandes calls for focus on SSI, self-reliance

Harping on a mix of socialistic and swadeshi policies, Union Defence Minister George Fernandes on Thursday said that the government must focus on small-scale industries and self-reliance to strengthen the country's economy and generate employment.

"We should think before divesting PSUs. I don't say it should not be done, but we should see its pros and cons before taking a decision," the defence minister told reporters on the sidelines of a national conference on employment generation organised by 'Lok Manch', a non-party forum.

Fernandes said divestment does not necessarily mean progress and several countries across the world are regulating it.

To a question if he was going anti-reforms, he said: "There is no such thing".

He, however, declined to comment on whether he had expressed reservations over Cabinet decision on VSNL (Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd) divestment.

"What happens in the Cabinet is not spoken publicly."

On downsizing, he said, it should be seen in which sector it was being carried out, and if it was affecting employment opportunities, then it was wrong.

Fernandes demanded that the report of the second National Commission on Labour, submitted to Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on June 29, should be made public. "I have not seen the report myself," he said.

In his hour-long inaugural address, Fernandes spoke of strengthening SSI and focussing on swadeshi goods.

Referring to the Montek Singh Ahluwalia report on employment generation, Fernandes said since the recommendations did not suggest any concrete measures to create more jobs, the Planning Commission was requested to set up another committee to pursue the matter.

He said a new committee, headed by Planning Commission member S P Gupta, was then set up and it gave its report to the government suggesting various steps to increase employment and fulfill Vajpayee's promise to create 100 million jobs in the next ten years.

Fernandes said the report should be implemented and people's involvement mobilised to strengthen Lok Shakti (people's power) and regulate Raj Shakti (state power).

He said while the private sector employed 860,000 workers, the public sector gave jobs to 19 million people. In the unorganised sector 185,000 persons were employed.

The defence minister said that at present 41 million skilled and literate people were enrolled in the Employment Exchange, against 37 million registered in 1994-95.

Referring to the SSI sector, he said the number of sick SSI units had come down to nearly 250,000 from about 342,000 last year.

However, it was the big industrial houses that were responsible for not repaying over Rs 210 billion government money, he said adding that the SSI units owed only Rs 45 billion.

"We have to devise ways to get the money from the big industrial houses and utilise it for employment generation," he said.

Human Resource Development Minister Murli Manohar Joshi, who was also present at the conference said, growth without employment is "cancerous".

ALSO READ:
More Money Headlines