The government on Monday said in Lok Sabha that a section of citizens will lose their employment reservations in public sector undertakings (PSUs) if it decides to privatise them.
The government’s answer was in response to a question by Congress MP Karti Chidambaram, who asked the union finance minister “whether the proposed privatisation and disinvestment of PSUs, particularly Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) will result in a reduction of reserved posts for Scheduled Castes (SCs), Scheduled Tribes (STs), and Other Backward Classes (OBCs), and if so, the details and number of such posts.”
Chidambaram also asked the finance ministry about the details of the “sanctioned reserved posts” for SCs, STs, and OBCs in all Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs). He also asked whether the government had any plan to continue these reservations in CPSUs, particularly BPCL, after disinvestment.
Responding to Chidambaram, the minister of state for finance Bhagwat Kisanrao Karad said that “reservation policy is applicable only in government companies” and since post disinvestment, a company ceases to be a government subsidiary, the reservation policy will not apply.
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“Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) being the nodal department for disinvestment matters has informed that the reservation policy is applicable only in government companies and after strategic disinvestment of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL), it will not remain a government company,” the minister informed Chidambaram.
About the total figures of people from reserved categories who work in CPSUs, the minister said among the 919,479 employees in CPSUs, nearly 160,384 come from scheduled caste backgrounds and account for over 17% of the total employees. Nearly 99,693 people are from scheduled tribe backgrounds and account for over 10% of total employees. Apart from these two, 198,581 people are also employed from the OBC category in the CPSUs, as per the government.
{{/usCountry}}About the total figures of people from reserved categories who work in CPSUs, the minister said among the 919,479 employees in CPSUs, nearly 160,384 come from scheduled caste backgrounds and account for over 17% of the total employees. Nearly 99,693 people are from scheduled tribe backgrounds and account for over 10% of total employees. Apart from these two, 198,581 people are also employed from the OBC category in the CPSUs, as per the government.
{{/usCountry}}Cumulatively, these reserved category employees form 49.8% of the total employees in CPSUs.
The current government has been guided by the principle of privatisation with a resolve of “minimum government and maximum governance.” Finance minister Nirmala Sitharaman, on February 1, 2021, had announced an elaborate roadmap for privatisation of PSUs in this fiscal year.
“In spite of Covid-19, we have kept working towards strategic disinvestment. A number of transactions namely BPCL, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, BEML, Pawan Hans, Neelachal Ispat Nigam limited among others would be completed in 2021-22,” she had said in her budget speech.