Sitting on such a stock pile and perpetuating a low salary-low motivation culture are two sides of the same coin. The figures actually mean more than that. The latest Economic Survey points out that central public sector undertakings have a near monopoly in sectors like the production of coal—85.52 per cent, crude oil — 85.87 per cent, and petroleum refining — 74.51per cent.

So by denying a vigorous earning and punishment culture in these PSUs, the infrastructure sector is also taking a knock. To ensure that this culture changes, the insistence on dishing out the same pay scale for the successful companies like the Navratnas and the others should be given up.

There is also no justification for classifying PSUs into categories on the basis of capital employed and the number of employees, then linking those with the applicable pay scales. The scheme was obviously thought up by some official who had just no idea of how a company functions. But even before the government gets going on things like variable pay, incentives and means to make campus recruitments effective, a mindset that says the chief and the lowest level employee should have a matching pay rise has to be dispensed with. Otherwise chiefs of PSUs will continue to cast envious look on their peon’s pay.

The writer is editor, economic affairs, The Financial Express.