People's Democracy

KERALA

Record Performance Of PSUs

E Rajesh

As the LDF government of Kerala completes its first year of office next month, the industrial sector, especially that belonging to public sector, shows a shining track record. The performance of the PSUs is a record in the history of the state. Many units registered record production. Not a single company showed a slide.

When LDF came into power last year, the situation of the state-run public sector enterprises was so pathetic that many of them were on the verge of closure. Remaining ones were the hubs of mismanagement and were causing huge loss to state exchequer every year. The focus of the new government was on the revival of these units. Giving a clear indication of its intention to revive and reshape the state's public sector industries, the government set apart Rs.53 crores for the public sector units immediately after it took office whereas the previous government had allocated only Rs. Five crore. The balance sheet of the LDF government's yearlong endeavour to revamp the public sector now clearly presents an entirely different picture.

Within a short span of time the LDF government succeeded in changing the scenario totally and as a result as many as 22 state public sector enterprises made a net profit of Rs. 92 crores during last fiscal. The turnover of the PSUs increased from Rs.1, 468 crores in 2005-06 to Rs.1, 563 crores in 2006-07. The total profit made by the 22 units during the last financial year is to the tune of Rs. 129 crores. The number of loss-making units also came down. When the LDF government got elected there were 30 PSUs that were running losses. The government brought down the number from 30 to 20 in eleven months. The total loss of these units was reduced from Rs.125 crores to Rs.37 crores. The PSUs had made a total loss of Rs.63 crore in 2005-06, the last year of Congress-led UDF's rule. The companies that made a turnaround last year are Keltron, Traco Cable, Kerala Automobiles, Kerala State Textile Corporation, KEL, Kerala Ceramics, United Electrical Industries, Keltron Electro Ceramics, CIDCO and Handicrafts Development Corporation.

As far as the private sector is concerned, all propaganda unleashed by the media and the rightist forces that the state could not be investment-friendly with the LDF in power has been proved to be false. All blame for the investors’ inertia to come to the state were put on Left Fronts' shoulders. The LDF government, which declared its commitment to lead the state along the path of industrial development has now got an assurance of investment of Rs. 10, 000 crores in the private sector. Banglore-based Shoba developers have offered to invest Rs. 5,000 crores for the High-Tech City in Kochi. This is expected to generate 75,000 jobs in the state.

The Construction Industry Development Board of the Malaysian government is about to begin with Rs. 1000 crore industrial park and satellite city in Kozhikode. It will be a joint venture with the Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation and it is expected to create 25,000 direct jobs. Talks are on for establishing a petro-chemical complex in 2,000 acres in Malabar. The other major projects which have almost been agreed upon include a Bio Technology Park at Kalamassery (Ernakulam), a Hardware Park at Kochi and a Knowledge Park at Mavoor (Kozhikode). The progress of projects like electronic hubs at Kochi and Thiruvananthapuram, the Spices Park at Idukki are some of the highlights of the last one-year performance.

The government has declared that its focus would be on expansion and modernisation of PSUs this year. The Industries minister Elamaram Karim said that in this fiscal, the government intended to bring 30 more PSUs under profit.