ASIA-PACIFIC India’s government should tap some of the $400bn it has locked up in state enterprises to invest in projects to clean up its environment and combat global warming, a top economic official said on Friday.
Vijay Kelkar, chairman of the finance commission, said India needed to accelerate the sell-off of businesses that could easily be run by private companies, and invest the resources in new social assets, including environmental projects and urban infrastructure, which are less appealing to private players. “I am not asking the government to exit,” Mr Kelkar said. “I am asking the government to reshuffle its portfolio, and change the asset structure of the public sector to the new needs of the country.”
