4 days ago
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A revamp of Kerala’s loss-making nationalist assemblage enterprises (PSE), with a proposition that ‘non-strategic’ PSEs whitethorn beryllium considered for “disinvestment, privatisation, oregon closure successful cases wherever they are perchance non-viable,” forms portion of the cardinal recommendations successful the UDF government’s White Paper connected Kerala’s fiscal health.
The document, ‘Kerala’s Fiscal Health: A Status Report’ tabled successful the State Legislative Assembly connected Thursday (June 4, 2026), besides recommends a merger of the Kerala State Beverages Corporation (Bevco) and the Kerala Civil Supplies Corporation (Supplyco) into a azygous corp “with abstracted divisions for liquor organisation and civilian supplies/provisions.”
The White Paper noted that it is imperative that the Kerala State Electricity Board (KSEB), the Kerala State Transport Corporation (KSRTC), and the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) are reformed successful a mode that they cease to beryllium a drain connected the exchequer. The committee headed by erstwhile Union Cabinet Secretary K.M. Chandrasekhar observed that these 3 utilities accounted for the overwhelming stock of the aggregate losses of PSEs successful Kerala. The persistent losses of these PSEs person led to the erosion of the nett worthy of these enterprises and continuous currency loss, forcing galore of them to beryllium connected budgetary resources to proceed their operation.
“This is successful summation to the information that mediocre show of galore nationalist utilities tin person spillover effects passim the State economy,” it said.
When considering non-strategic PSEs for disinvestment, privatisation, oregon closure, the livelihood of the employees should beryllium safeguarded, the White Paper said. The authorities should besides pat the productive imaginable of the onshore and different assets held by these entities, it said.
Drain connected exchequer
The White Paper noted that loss-making PSEs persistently stay a drain connected the exchequer, straining the economy. The accumulated nonaccomplishment of each PSEs roseate from ₹31,517.1 crore successful 2021 to ₹72,851.2 crore successful 2024-25, the papers noted.
“In this context, the committee recommends that indispensable nationalist utilities indispensable proceed to stay accessible and affordable to poorer sections of society. However, societal responsibilities should not beryllium utilized to disguise operational inefficiencies oregon fiscal mismanagement. A mode retired is to alteration the strategy from production-based subsidies to consumption-based subsidies,” the papers noted.
