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Naidu favours divestment in oil sector

Joining the debate over divestment policy, Telegu Desam Party supremo and Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu said he favoured divestment in the oil sector but cautioned that care should be taken to ensure that a transparent policy was put in place.

"Let more and more private companies come up so that consumers will be benefited as it happened in the telecom sector," Naidu told reporters in Hyderabad on Wednesday.

Asked whether he subscribed to the 'Arun Shourie brand' of divestment, he shot back 'divestment is divestment. There is no Shourie-brand or any other brand. We need to pursue this policy in a transparent manner and there should be more debate."

Citing telecom privatisation as a benchmark, reforms-savvy Naidu said telecom reforms had resulted in tariff coming down drastically benefiting consumers.

Stating that he had been steadfastly fighting for liberalisation of telecom and civil aviation sectors and ending the monopoly of Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Naidu said the government should only play a facilitator's role and allow competition to thrive.

Asked whether he was satisfied with the pace of reforms, Naidu said: "We need to speed up the process. Our reforms are like taking one step forward and two steps backward."

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