South India: Public Enterprise Losing Money

Trivandrum, India, Mar. 12 2002 (INS News) -- Most of the 112 public enterprises in Kerala continue to be the proverbial white elephants with draining huge amount of public money even as the Congress-led United Democratic Front (UDF) government has announced its plans to sell them off. The latest performance data tabled in the State Assembly state that 62 of 112 public sector units (PSUs) made loss while 36 ran on profit and the rest broke even.

According to the Bureau of Public Enterprises, the PSUs have incurred a net loss of Rs 1.9515 billion during the last fiscal year (2000-2001) as against Rs 1.2321 billion recorded in the previous year. The collective negative contribution is estimated at RS 5.1403 billion.

The total capital invested in the PSUs till March 31, 2001 came to RS 155.15 billion, of which a sum of RS 17.50 billion was made during the year 2000-01. The accumulated loss as on March 31, 2001 is RS 33.35 billion.

Kerala Minerals and Metals (RS 1.286 billion), Kerala State Electricity Board (RS 567.2 million), Kerala State Financial Enterprises (RS 221.5 million), Kerala Hitech Industries (RS 195.3 million), Malabar Cements (RS 183.7 million), Kerala Financial Corporation (RS 180.1 million), Kerala State Industrial Development Corporation (RS 110.3 million), Kerala Agro Machinery Corporation (RS 99 million), Kerala State Beverages Corporation (RS 54 million) and Travancore Titanium Products (RS 52.9 million) are the top ten profit-making enterprises.

Kerala Water Authority (RS 1.1739 billion), Kerala State Road Transport Corporation (RS 1.162 billion), Kerala State Housing Board (RS 453.8 million), Kerala Cashew Development Corporation (RS 443.5 million), Kerala State Civil Supplies Corporation (RS 388.7 million), Kerala State Electronics Development Corporation (RS 373.5 million), Transformers and Electricals (RS 132 million), Travancore-Cochin Chemicals (RS 128.4 million), Kerala Electrical and Allied Engineering Company (RS 114.8 million) and Autokast (RS 88.4 million) tops the list of the exchequer drainers.

Meanwhile, Technopark remains a ray of hope both in terms of employment and profit generation. The State Government had invested RS 820 million on the software park as grant and aid and the park attracted investments worth RS 1.47 billion and created 4,710 jobs, of which women accounted for 55 per cent of the total direct employees. The government is investing RS 70 million for enhancing the existing infrastructure in the park and other upcoming similar IT parks in the State.

Of the total investment, foreign investment amounted to RS 655.5 million, NRI RS 567.0 million and domestic RS 255 million. It accommodates 53 international and domestic companies, of which 30 percent are US-based, 35 percent from Europe, 5 per cent from the Gulf, 25 percent from within the State and the rest 5 per cent from outside Kerala.

-- Ashraf Padanna - Correspondent in Trivandrum, India

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