PSUs asked to either invest their surpluses or give it back to the exchequer

PSUs asked to either invest their surpluses or give it back to the exchequerThe Government wants cash-rich public sector undertakings (PSUs) to either invest their surpluses or give it back to the exchequer as special dividend.

In a meeting with the heads of top 25 PSUs, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh gave a stern message to PSUs that they either would have to invest their surplus funds to reignite economic growth or pay it back to the exchequer.

The top 25 central PSUs are currently sitting on nearly Rs 2.50 lakh crore.

Following the meeting, the Prime Minister's Office said in a statement, "They should use it for driving investment, growth and jobs. Investing such surplus would help in reigniting growth impluses..."

Heavy Industries & Public Enterprises Minister Praful Patel said that the government wanted PSUs to utilize their surpluses to grow further by making new investments in their development plan.

The meeting, which was convened by the Prime Minister, was attended by heads of 25 PSUs, including ONGC, Coal India Ltd, NTPC, BHEL, NMDC, and SAIL; as well as by Finance Minister P Chidambaram.

The meeting took place as the government is finding it very hard to meet the fiscal deficit target of 5.1 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) for the running fiscal.

The Prime Minister stressed that Indian economy should achieve a growth rate of between 8 per cent and 8.5 per cent irrespective of what happens in the global economy.