Key Metrics

1. 1. In 1985 the world’s total resources were estimated to be valued at US$ 12 trillion and the world’s wealth was also, about the same at US$ 12 tril- lion. However, by the year 2000, though the world’s total resources remained at US$ 12 trillion, the world’s total wealth had increased to US$ 200 trillion. This increase in wealth grew out of Ideas, Design, Technology and such intangible assets and the people who valued only tangible assets did not stand in queue for such intangible assets and hence, did not share in the growth of such wealth. We need to get our people to share in such wealth and to give the very poor a head -start in such sharing.
   2. Most of the Public sector units (PSU) set up by the earlier ‘Socialist’ Governments over the decades since Independence have been ‘Sick’ for a very long time and the Government is unable to disinvest from the same due to the pressure from the organized Unions of mostly ineffective, unproductive and surplus employees, and the legal cases they raise. Instead of disinvestment, the Government is compelled to re-capitalize and sink many additional thousands of crore rupees into each PSU each year. Instead, it would be better that we use the asset value of such ‘SICK’ units to subsidize the below poverty line people while at the same time bringing them into the equity markets. The unionized employees should not be allowed to get away with drawing comparisons between themselves and the investing Businessmen, but instead be made to compare themselves with the really poor, whose opportunity to better themselves these employees are obstructing, by sitting as ‘dogs in the manger’.
   3. This Government with its mind set of “The Government has no business to be in business”, seeks disinvestment opportunity, but the organized Labour Unions will not allow any workable disinvestment of over 49 percent and also, insists on job protection for the already unproductive levels of employees. This discourages the Private Sector from investing. The organized Labour Unions of the Socialist and Communist era must be prevented from claiming a disproportionate share and, from black mailing the Government to benefit only themselves even at the cost of the very poor.
   4. Many previous handouts or subsidies to such PSU’s have only postponed the day of reckoning.
   5. We need to note that the majority of the PSU’s need total disinvestment and total revamp, which can be undertaken only under a private sector management which has ‘skin in the game’ and is given a free hand to deal appropriately with the existing bloated manpower.
   6. Say 20 percent of Indians are at subsistence level poverty which means 5.6 Crores families (140 Crore X 20 percent= 28 Crores. At five per family becomes 5.6 Cr families). If each family starts with Rs.1.0 lakh at Government price would require 5.6 lakh crores for the entire scheme. This scheme can be implemented without any upfront cash flow as it is based on the funds raised from most the additional subsidies being given to such units each year and allows the stock market to pay for it thereafter through further increase in its value.

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