Review disinvestment, go for course correction, if needed: George

BANGALORE: Defence Minister George Fernandes said on Tuesday he has suggested to the government to review its disinvestment programme and go in for course correction if needed.
"I have suggested review of what we have done so far (regarding the programme on disinvestment of PSUs) and if any course correction is needed, we should go for that", Fernandes told reporters here after inaugurating the annual conference of Karnataka Planters Association.
Addressing the Conference, Fernandes described the current crisis faced by the coffee industry as a "major calamity", adding, growers were justified in seeking relief.
He said it was necessary to have some kind of a regulatory framework - like fixing quota for each coffee producing country - to stablise prices of the commodity at the global level.
"Union government should involve itself, if such an initiative is contemplated", he said, and also urged coffee growers to look at diversification. There is a need to highlight coffee''s medicinal values as well as "research findings" that it''s a panacea for some diseases, he added.