Triumph of public sector

When India became independent in 1947, the country’s industrial base was very weak. To solve this and to end the exploitation by private monopoly companies, public sector enterprises were created, inspired by socialist ideas. Because India followed a mixed economic model, private industries also grew along with the public sector. However, over time, many public sector companies began to suffer losses due to several reasons: corruption among officials, lack of modern management practices, obstacles created by trade union activities, and excessive political interference. As a result, most public sector enterprises became a heavy burden on the national economy.

Air India, one of India’s largest public sector companies, had accumulated huge losses, and in 2022, the Central Government handed it over to the Tata Group. In recent years, the Central Government has been following a policy of selling loss-making public sector companies to the private sector. But in Kerala, both the LDF and UDF governments have opposed this policy because of the views of workers and the public. For this approach to succeed in the current situation, public sector units must operate profitably.

In this context, the recent achievement of increasing the number of profit-making public sector enterprises in Kerala to 27 is notable. This was made possible through the efficient intervention of the LDF government and the Industries Department led by Minister P. Rajeev. Last financial year, only 11 such companies were in profit. Their total revenue has increased from Rs 2,299 crore to Rs 2,440 crore. These figures were presented in the half-yearly review meeting of the public sector enterprises. From April to September, 25 companies were profitable, and by October, the number rose to 27. Compared to last year, 14 additional companies have turned profitable, showing that with the right conditions, even more public sector units can achieve positive results.

The performance of Keltron, one of the state’s most important public sector units, deserves special mention. Keltron has shown strong achievements in defence, aerospace, electronics, and AI-based technologies. It also plays a major role in the construction of the warship INS Tarmal. Kerala Automobiles Limited, which is advancing in the electric scooter market through a joint venture, has expanded its business with new orders from Karnataka. Coir Corporation has also shown improvement with a revenue of Rs 60 lakh. These developments show that even in a modern competitive economy, public sector enterprises can overcome limitations and operate profitably. This also proves the success of Kerala’s policy, which is different from the one followed by the Central Government.