The Prime Minister, Dr. Manmohan Singh, has called upon his Cabinet colleagues to correct the perception that Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) are profligate and that administrative Ministries tend to treat them as their fiefdoms. In a letter to the Union Ministers, Dr. Manmohan Singh has pointed out that during recent times there have disquieting reports about some PSUs ignoring the ground rules of good corporate governance and conduct. Allegations of extravagance in expenditure on the part of some of their senior officials have been brought to the notice of the Government, he added.

The Prime Minister has said that PSUs have a pride of place in the country and they perform very valuable functions in several core sectors of the economy and their efficient management contributes to generation of wealth, overall development and social well being of the people. "We are committed to improving their standards of efficiency and competitiveness and expect them to be model employers", he added.

"The Ministries in charge of PSUs are custodians of the resources of our country and it is their bounden duty to lead them by their example of efficiency, rectitude and austerity. While granting full operational autonomy to PSUs to enable them to compete and succeed in the global market, the Ministries have a responsibility for ensuring accountability of PSU executives for their performance in conformity with established norms of conduct", the Prime Minister wrote to the Ministers. He requested the Ministers to take note of his concerns and convey those to PSUs under their respective Ministries for appropriate follow up action.