HYDERABAD: Though the State government is pumping money into Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs), most of them are either inactive or incurring huge losses. Except for the power sector PSUs, the remaining are not financially sound.
The latest Comptroller and Auditor General report on State finances suggested the State government review the functioning of all loss-making PSUs and take steps necessary to improve their financial performance. “Review inactive State government companies and take appropriate decision on their revival / winding up,” the CAG recommended.
The CAG also wanted the government to issue necessary instructions to administrative departments to set targets for individual PSUs to furnish the accounts in time and to strictly monitor the clearance of arrears, and take steps expeditiously in order to liquidate the arrears in finalisation of the accounts.
The total investment of the State and Union governments and others in these 30 PSUs at the end of financial year 2020-21 was Rs 72,340.36 crore consisting of equity of Rs 26,525.92 crore, interest-free loans of Rs 3,318.73 crore and subsidies/grants of Rs 42,495.71 crore. However, they incurred a total loss of Rs 9,567 crore up to 2020-21.
As of March 31, 2021, there were 82 PSUs in Telangana under the audit jurisdiction of CAG. Of these, 16 were inactive. Of the remaining 66 working PSUs, eight are related to the power sector and 58 to other sectors. Of these 66 PSUs, only 30 PSUs that furnished their accounts/information for audit were considered for analysis of financial performance.
“During 2020-21, these 30 PSUs registered a turnover of Rs 66,316.99 crore, which is equal to 6.76 per cent of the GSDP of Telangana. The contribution of PSUs to GSDP has declined from 8.36 per cent in 2018-19 to 6.76 per cent in 2020-21. The investment of the State government in equity and long-term loans in these 30 PSUs was Rs 38,512.85 crore against a total investment of Rs 1,20,070.67 crore at the end of March 2021. The outstanding long-term loans of these PSUs as on March 31, 2021, increased to Rs 98,929.43 crore from Rs 78,640.20 crore during the previous year (2019-20),” the CAG report said.
Out of the 30 PSUs, 12 earned profits (Rs 728.63 crore), while 16 incurred losses (Rs 10,295.63 crore) and two PSUs had reported neither profit nor loss. The net accumulated losses of these 30 PSUs were Rs 59,856.60 crore as of March 31, 2021.
Of the 66 working PSUs, financial statements for the year 2020-21 were received only from seven in time. As many as 36 PSUs accounts were due for more than three years and 16 PSUs have not submitted even their first accounts since their incorporation.