Dr Mahendra Nath Pandey, Union Heavy Industries Minister has said that Independent Directors bring an objective view and safeguard the interests of stakeholders, particularly the minority shareholders. Addressing the Directors’ Meet on Corporate Governance organized by Ministry of Heavy Industries (MHI) at Vigyan Bhawan here today, Dr. Pandey stated that Independent Directors are very important functionaries for ensuring ‘corporate governance’ in the CPSEs as they give independent judgment to the Board on issues of strategy, performance and risk management.
He further mentioned that one of the key functions of the Government being the majority shareholder of the CPSEs is to undertake regular performance evaluation of CPSEs so as to assess their efficacy towards fulfillment of core objectives for which they have been constituted. The performance evaluation system i.e. Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) evaluation system reflects a Company’s performance.
He said that the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) is a negotiated document between the Government as the owner of the CPSE and the Management of the CPSE. MoU evaluation has enabled the CPSEs to focus on achieving the results. Priority programmes of the Government such as procurement from GeM, MSME sector etc. have also been included in the MoU recently.
Dr. Pandey further added that many of the CPSEs are facing challenging times due to the competitive scenario. Therefore, it is high time to convert such challenges into opportunities for growth of the companies. He further emphasized some of the key points which can help in achieving the goals:
- Timely completion of all projects is of utmost importance, so as to start generating timely revenues apart from avoiding cost overruns.
- CPSEs should consistently work towards indigenisation in line with Hon’ble Prime Minister’s vision of ‘Atma Nirbhar Bharat’ and support the nation in becoming a Global Manufacturing Hub. He reiterated the Prime Minister’s Mantra for all CPSEs: “Perform, Reform & Transform”.
- As part of the celebration of Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav, Ministry of Heavy Industries in association with its CPSEs and Autonomous Bodies has planned series of events and activities including themes of Actions@75, Achievements@75, Ideas@75, Resolve@75 in areas of Innovation, Manufacturing Excellence, Atma Nirbhar Bharat, Environment & Sustainability, Swacchha Bharat, Swastha Bharat, Unsung Heroes of Freedom Struggle etc. He urged the Directors of all C PSEs to observe these activities with due importance.
During the event, CMDs of following CPSEs under Ministry of Heavy Industries gave their presentations on ‘MoU Performance and Way Forward’ which was followed by Discussion and Question & Answers with Independent Directors:
- Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd. (BHEL)
- Bridge & Roof Co. Ltd. (B&R)
- Engineering Projects (India) Ltd. (EPIL)
- Braithwaite Burn & Jessop Construction Co. Ltd. (BBJ)
- Andrew Yule & Co. Ltd. (AYCL)
- Heavy Engineering Corporation Ltd. (HEC)
- Cement Corporation of India Ltd. (CCI)
- HMT Ltd. (HMT)
- HMT (International) Ltd.
- HMT Machine Tools Ltd.
- Hindustan Salts Ltd. (HSL)
- Sambhar Salts Ltd. (SSL)
- Rajasthan Electronics & Instruments Ltd. (REIL)
- Instrumentation Ltd. (IL)
- NEPA Ltd.