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Government investments up; more PSUs run into red

Despite investments by the government and state-owned corporations going up by 4.3 per cent to about Rs 2500 billion during 1999-2000, the number of public sector units running into red rose to 116 with an aggregate net loss of Rs 109.04 billion, the Comptroller and Auditor General has said.

Total equity investment by the government and state-owned corporations, banks and financial institutions in 256 PSUs during 1999-2000, amounted to Rs 872.26 billion while loans given to them aggregated Rs 1622.29 billion, CAG said in its latest 'PSUs Review of Accounts' report.

The budgetary outgo to the PSUs also went up to Rs 183.90 billion in 1999-2000 as against Rs 163.25 billion in the previous year on account of subsidy related to administered prices, equity and loans, it said.

Despite these investments, the number of PSUs incurring losses went up to 116 during 1999-2000 with an aggregate of Rs 109.04 billion net loss as against 111 PSUs in 1998-99 with a total net loss of Rs 96.90 billion, according to the report.

However, the positive part of PSUs performance is that the total profit earned by the 176 PSUs amounted to Rs 338.45 billion during 1999-2000 as against about Rs 310 billion in the previous year.

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