The poor performance of PSEs started to be reflected in low profits and in some cases mounting losses year after year. Hence, privatisation of public sector enterprises is a part of the economic reforms process initiated in 1991. In dismantling the public sector, India has adopted a gradualist approach. The slow pace of privati-sation has disappointed the public in general. This book traces the philosophy and growth of PSEs in India and describes recent policy measures for their privatisation. Hurdles being faced by the Government in this gigantic task are also set forth.
Dr. Vibha Mathur is presently an Associate Professor in the Department of Commerce, Jesus and Mary College (JMC), University of Delhi, New Delhi. She received her M.Phil. and Ph.D. degrees from the Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics (DSE), University of Delhi. She has written extensively on India's foreign trade and authored a number of books on the subject. The prominent ones include: Foreign Trade, Export-Import Policy and Regional Trade Agreements of India, WTO and India: Development Agenda for the 21st Century, and India-European Union Trade Prospects and the Impact of Euro. She was a visiting fellow at the European Commission and Parliament in Brussels, Belgium, in May 2001. In June 2005, she visited, as a guest, the University of Victoria, Melbourne, Australia. In March 2003, she was selected by the University Grants Commission (UGC), New Delhi for a post-doctoral research project titled: Birth of Euro and its Implications for India-Eurozone Trade. The project was successfully completed and submitted to UGC in May 2005. She has also completed another UGC project titled: Trade Liberalisation and its Impact on India-ASEAN Trade.