When Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman used popular idiom 'ulta chor kotwal ko daante'

In a categorical rebuttal to certain claims made by the Opposition regarding the state of public sector enterprises in the country, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman said that PSUs are thriving under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership. The finance minister took to microblogging site X (formerly Twitter) to state that these companies are benefitting “significantly from the culture of professionalism infused in them along with increased operational freedom”.

Repeated claims from the @INCIndia ecosystem and @RahulGandhi in particular that Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are being dismantled & are in disarray under the current government are a textbook example of 'Ulta Chor Kotwal Ko Daante,' as the facts reveal a very different…

— Nirmala Sitharaman (Modi Ka Parivar) (@nsitharaman) May 8, 2024

In her tweet, tagging the Indian National Congress (INC) as well as its leader, Rahul Gandhi, Sitharaman said that the Grand Old Party's repeated claims that PSUs "are being dismantled" and "are in disarray under the current government" are a "textbook example of ulta chor kotwal ko daante", using the popular Hindi language idiom meaning the pot calling the kettle black. The facts reveal a very different picture," the finance minister wrote.  

She also pointed out a few points to elaborate how the Modi government has succeeded in transforming PSUs in the last 10 years: 

• Central public sector enterprises' total paid-up capital has grown 2.55 times to Rs 5.05 lakh crore as of March 31, 2023, from Rs 1.98 lakh crore in FY14
• Their total gross revenue has increased 84 per cent during this period to Rs 37.9 lakh crore in FY23 
• Profit-making CPSEs' net profit went up 87 per cent to Rs 2.41 lakh crore
• CPSEs' contribution to the exchequer by way of components such as excise and customs duties, GST, corporate tax and dividends more than doubled to Rs 4.58 lakh crore in FY23 from Rs 2.20 lakh crore in FY14
• Their total net worth increased 82 per cent to Rs 17.33 lakh crore as of FY23  
• Capital Employed by them saw growth of 119 per cent to Rs 38.16 lakh crore as of March 31, 2023

The Modi government's initiatives have helped PSU banks recover from the banking crisis created by the UPA, the finance minister said. "GNPAs in PSBs have fallen to decadal lows of 3.2 per cent and profits are at record highs, even as the push to financial inclusion brings formal banking to every corner of the country," she elaborated. 

The finance minister also pointed out that the government's focus on capital expenditure has driven substantial growth in the stock performance. 

Asserting that claims made by the Congress party and Rahul Gandhi about PSUs are baseless, Sitharaman provided a plethora of statistics and examples to illustrate the remarkable transformation and growth of PSUs under the Modi government.

She also asserted that the companies were faced with neglect during the Congress-led UPA regime. 

@RahulGandhi had also maliciously attacked Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). Contrary to his claims, under PM @narendramodi, HAL's market valuation has skyrocketed by 1370% in merely 4 years, rising from ₹17,398 crore in 2020 to ₹2.5 lakh crore as of May 7, 2024.
HAL on…

— Nirmala Sitharaman (Modi Ka Parivar) (@nsitharaman) May 8, 2024

It was the Congress party that left the country crippled, by relying heavily on imports rather than empowering institutions like HAL, the Finance Minister wrote. 

Many PSU stocks have staged unprecedented rallies in the more recent past, reflected in a surge of almost 95 per cent in the Nifty CPSE gauge, whose 11 constituents include stocks such as Coal India, NTPC, ONGC, Power Grid, Oil India, and NHPC. The headline Nifty50 index has risen about 22 per cent during this period. 

The finance minister also highlighted the following among the key factors behind investors' undeterred confidence on the central public sector space:   

• Greater alignment of management incentives through the sharpening of performance-linked incentives
• Capital management guidelines on dividends, buybacks, etc.
• Calibration of the disinvestment strategy  

Besides, the Union Minister also pointed out that the government's focus on areas such as infrastructure development, power and logistics has directly benefited PSUs operating in spaces such as railways, roads, power, metals, construction, and heavy equipment. 

With inputs from agencies