“The Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) did tremendous work during the Covid19 pandemic through their initiatives ranging from supply of oxygen to hospitals, creation of infrastructure to supporting lakhs of migrants”, said Atul Sobti, Director General of Standing Conference of Public Enterprises (SCOPE). He was speaking at a webinar organized by ‘Public Relations Society Delhi’ on Saturday.
In his hour-long virtual interaction, he spoke passionately about “The role and contribution of CPSEs during the pandemic & the way forward for the Communication professionals” at the above event.
Elaborating upon how CPSE rose to the challenge of the pandemic SCOPE DG said “CPSEs are the real warriors. Many public sector workers lost their lives while serving the Nation. On 24 March 2020 when the first lockdown was announced, everyone was scared but CPSEs came forward and contributed close Rs. 2400 crore to PM Cares Fund, apart from CM Care Funds. The CPSEs provided infrastructure in the Hospitals, apart from providing masks, medical equipment, sanitizers, etc. Many CPSEs converted their facilities on war-footing and made them capable to supply medical-grade oxygen to every nook & corner of the country”
He spoke about how CPSEs are surrounded by many myths ranging from under performance to loss making. He highlighted some interesting facts and figures during the course of his interaction by saying that “During first Five Year Plan, there were only five CPSEs and today we have about 348 CPSEs, out of which 249 are operational. These CPSEs contribute 13% of India’s GDP, with a turnover of USD 363 billion. The combined contribution of India’s CPSEs is more than the combined contribution of 140 countries’ GDP put together. In coal sector, 92% of total work is done by the CPSEs; similarly, 51% in Power Sector, 83% in Natural Gas Sector, 37% in Fertilizer Sector. These are the published facts as given by DPE in the year 2018-19.”
