Leading non-resident Indian industrialist Lord Swraj Paul on Monday supported the privatisation policy of Indian government saying it should be actively pursued in order to create more value.
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"The government has no business running businesses and it should get out of it. India has wasted a lot of money in the last 50 years on sick public sector undertakings. I am of the view that government's job is only to look after areas of health, education and law and order," Lord Paul, Britain's business ambassador , told reporters after addressing members of Young Leaders' Forum, in Kolkata.
"The government should be only involved in business for creation of value," the chairman of the Caparo Group said.
Asked about his opinion on privatisation of profit making companies like Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Lord Paul said, "You should not think that only sick companies can be divested. We will, however, have to see whether somebody else could create more value."
"It is to be examined whether companies like BPCL and HPCL could start making higher profit under private hands...can somebody create more value?" Lord Paul said.
Asked about the recent protests in the United Kingdom over outsourcing from India, he said, "In democracy people have every right to protest, but this will not prevent us from continuing on the path of globalisation."
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