Govt has no business to be in business: PM Modi

New Delhi, Feb 24: PM Modi speaking on the various reforms in the Budget 2021 said that the govt has to focus on development projects. "When government engages in business it leads to losses. The govt is bound by rules and lack of courage to take bold commercial decisions", he said

PM Modi said the amount collected from monetisation and divestment will be used for funding development projects. Asset monetisation and privatisation decisions will help empower Indian citizens, he added.

''The Govt is going ahead with the mantra of 'Monetise & Modernise'. When Govt monetises, that space is filled by private sector of the country. Private sector brings investment and best global practices with them.''

''This modernises other things and brings modernisation to the entire sector, rapid expansion of the sector and creation of new employment opportunities. It is important to monitor this to ensure that there is transparency in this process and rules are followed,'' he added.

''There was a different time when public sector enterprises were established & the needs were also different. There is always scope to reform the policy which was good 50-60 years ago. Now when we are bringing reform, our aim is to optimally utilise public money,'' Modi said.

''Many public sector enterprises are loss-making & several of them need the support of public money. It burdens the economy. Public sector enterprises should not be run because they were started many years ago & were someone's pet project. I can understand the need of any public sector enterprise if it is fulfilling the needs of any sector & of any strategic importance. It is the responsibility of the govt to supply support country's enterprise & business but there is no need for govt to be in business,'' he said.

''For Aatmnirbhar Bharat, work is going on in full swing on modern infrastructure & multi-modal connectivity. We're working on Rs 111-trillion National Infrastructure Pipeline. There is a scope for the private sector to invest around Rs 25 trillion in this project,'' PM Narendra Modi said.