Scheme favouring PSUs to be extended: Dev

NEW DELHI: The purchase preference scheme giving public sector undertakings the first right to supply equipment and projects to other PSUs will be extended by two years till March ‘06, public enterprises and heavy industries minister Santosh Mohan Dev said.

“We are going to extend the scheme for the next two years. The ministry will move a proposal for the consideration of the Cabinet soon,� he said.

Justifying the ground for the preferential scheme under which a PSU gets a chance to match the lowest bidder in case the difference between the two is up to 10% for projects and equipment supply to other PSUs and government departments, Mr Dev said it was needed to provide a “level-playing field for PSUs�.

“Lately, a lot of private companies have come to compete with PSUs. The PSUs are, however, competiting on an uneven ground as many private entities avail of a host of incentives and tax holidays. Moreover, PSUs strictly adhere to quality unlike some private companies,� he said. The national common minimum programme opposes privatisation of profit-making PSUs.