UPA government committed to strong public sector in many areas: PM

With the government coming under mounting criticism over scams perpetrated by private players in collusion with policy makers, prime minister Manmohan Singh yesterday called on the public sector to ensure the ''highest standard of corporate accountability.''

Addressing a gathering of top PSU chiefs, the prime minister said the government was committed to a strong public sector, which had acquired vitality and was ready to face market scrutiny.

"Our government is committed to a strong public sector in many areas of our economy. In some sectors there is also a need for public sector enterprises to explore global opportunities. The government is working on a policy to support our public sector enterprises in this effort.

"We are also conscious of the need to ensure the highest standards of corporate accountability in our public sector. We are one of the very few countries in the world that have implemented a mandatory Code of Corporate Governance for their public sector enterprises," he added.

Presenting the MoU Excellence and SCOPE awards in New Delhi, Singh said the government had encouraged the PSUs to adopt a ''robust and transparent Performance Management System.''

Making a case for better incentives for PSU executives and other workforce, the prime minister said, ''Measures such as performance related pay will result in sound practices for better corporate governance, which is of critical importance in today's competitive environment.''