Central government units post 36 per cent rise in H1 2008-09 turnover

The turnover of the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) is estimated to have grown by a record 36 per cent in the first half of the current financial year 2008-09 against the 12.13 per cent growth in the whole of the previous year, 2007-08.

Although the record growth in the first half does not reflect the impact of the global financial meltdown, the 36 per cent growth in itself is significant, minister of heavy industries and public enterprises Santosh Mohan Dev said.

"As per the information received from CPSEs, the turnover (during April-September 2008-09) is likely to grow by about 36 per cent over the corresponding period last year," Dev said in his foreword to the Public Enterprises Survey 2007-08.

The impact of the global financial market crisis is expected to be manifest in the results for the second half of fiscal 2008-09, Dev said.

The minister, however, expressed confidence that ''the CPSEs would continue to play an important role in helping the country to achieve a high growth rate in the years to come.

As many as 28 central public sector enterprises, including a few "shell companies", have been set up in the recent past and are in various stages of development, according to the survey.

Major investments include: Bharatiya Nabhakiya Vidyut Nigam (BHAVANI) with an authorised capital of Rs5,000 crore; Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India (Rs4,000 crore) and Sethusamudram Corporation (Rs1,000 crore), the survey noted.

Other new state-owned companies include NTPC Hydro, Bharat Pertoresources and Bhramputra Cracker and Polymer.

BHAVANI, with a paid-up capital of Rs978 crore, was set up to construct, commission and operate 500 MWe prototye fast breeder test reactor project at Kalapakkam in Tamil Nadu.

Only six of the 28 new CPSEs have an authorised capital of over Rs50 crore, while others are shell companies, JVs and arms of blue-chip state-run firms, the survey said.

Many of these are ongoing projects and are expected to provide an alternative choice to aspiring engineering and management students.