Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Tuesday reiterated that the government is fully committed to unlocking the potential of the public sector.
Speaking after launching the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Administrative Staff College of India in Hyderabad, the Prime Minister said "we want to create a culture that rewards risk taking, innovation and product development in the public sector so that it can compete effectively on the global plane. We must work to put them on a sound financial footing, by giving them opportunities to restructure and rationalise, enter into public-private partnerships, and enable them to build on core competencies."
"To do this, we must review the governance structures of the public sector undertakings, while maintaining accountability to parliament. The fear of vigilance should not deter good managers being creative or enterprising," he added.
Complimenting Indian managers and business leaders for the courage and enterprise they have demonstrated in facing up to the challenges of globalisation and liberalisation, he felt that there was a sea change in Indian business today.
Even public sector firms have demonstrated resilience in dealing with change and competition. "But there is much more still to be done," he said.
The Prime Minister said the government invested a significant amount of our national resources in building up a sizeable public sector.
"This has got our growth process going, and our public sector has provided a base for the formation of engineering and technological skills which is now paying off. But the productivity of investment locked up in our public sector is low. We need to unlock this investment potential, if the country has to benefit from the past investments," he observed.
"Recently, we have seen a positive turnaround in the performance of Indian Railways. This has to be sustained. We have to also tone up the management of other large public sector undertakings, including the Food Corporation of India and oil PSUs. These are all areas in which the Staff College can contribute to nation-building as it has done in the past," he added.
To realize the full growth potential of the people, and to make the growth process more inclusive, he emphasized the need to improve the delivery of public services - be it hospitals, schools, colleges, water and sanitation services or power supply services.
The reform of municipal administration and strengthening of the capabilities of Panchayati Raj institutions and management of public utilities would merit greatest attention, he pointed out.
Expressing deep concern that, in the world at large, trust in government as an institution was suffering, he felt that that the answer to this lay only in cutting back government, though this must be done where necessary. "Equally important, we must reform and reposition government so that it addresses the tasks that only it can deliver. This is critical to making the growth process more inclusive.
Public-private sector partnerships can help, but the government cannot abdicate its role in providing basic services to the citizen. This calls for wise leadership and a change in the manner our civil service and public functionaries are delivering," he observed.
He reiterated the government's full commitment to simplification of government, to reform of the civil service with more emphasis on domain expertise, training, rigorous performance assessment and greater stability in tenure.
"We are equally committed to promote a code of conduct that better defines the relationship between the civil service and the political executive. We must also make service conditions more competitive, while cutting waste and over-manning," he added.
Rs 5 crore interest-free loan for ASCI
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Tuesday sanctioned Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) interest-free loan to Administrative Staff College of India.
For Singh, who delivered the lecture to mark the commencement of the Golden Jubilee year of ASCI in Hyderabad, it was a nostalgic visit to the country's premier training institute for senior managers and administrators.
"I am particularly delighted to find myself so many friends with whom I have had the pleasure of working in the past," he said. He recalled that when the ASCI was set up in 1956, management education in the country was in its infancy. Even the Administrative Staff College of Great Britain at Henley-upon-Thames, on whose model this college was designed, was less than a decade old.
"I compliment this college for having taken up this innovative and formidable task and for having succeeded in institutionalising the system of training working managers. The past 50 years have seen India being transformed in a variety of ways.
"Institutions like yours have been an important part of that transformation process. I pay tribute to the memory of all those who have been associated with the growth and success of the Administrative Staff College of India," he said.
"In today's globalised world, our industry faces a much more competitive and uncertain environment than when the college was established," he said and pointed out that institutions like ASCI have their task cut out in training managers, especially in government and the public sector, to face the challenge of a more competitive and more uncertain business environment.
He said the country must develop human resources for a modern economy and deliver basic services better. While the economy has shown its ability to develop new products and services, it is handicapped by low levels of R&D.
India's share in scientific research worldwide is less than one per cent and has been declining. The private and public sectors need to play their due role in enhancing this.
"Even at current rates of growth, I find our industry is already facing a huge skills shortage. This shortage is felt not only in high-tech skills but also in basic skills - such as plumbers, electricians and nurses.
"These supply shortages can constrain growth. While our management institutions are producing a large number of graduates, the numbers are nowhere near what we require," he observed.
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