The 6th edition of the National PSU Residential Summit commenced at 5 PM, on November 21, in the plush hall of Hotel Crowne Plaza in Kochi with the arrival of Shri Arif Mohammed Khan, the Governor of Kerala. Walking up the red carpet, he arrived in the hall to be greeted by thunderous applause from the dignitaries and the guests who had already arrived.
The three-day Summit (Nov 21 to Nov 23) began with the lamp lighting ceremony and the singing of the National Anthem. The stage was then taken by the Shri Arif Mohammed Khan and, from ETGovernment, Anoop Verma and Kartik Sharma. In his address, the Governor of Kerala provided his insights on the valuable lessons that the technocrats and professionals from today can learn from ancient Indian culture.
He said that the young professionals of this country must master the values of “nishkama karma” because by doing so, they can ensure that the country achieves the vision of Viksit Bharat. He also highlighted the importance of universal education for fulfilling the aspirations for the country’s youth and enabling all sections of society to become equal beneficiaries in the country’s development.
This was indeed an evening that led to the germination of amazing ideas and insights on the valuable role that the public sector is playing in India. From the deliberations on the stage and also the informal conversations on the sidelines of the Summit it became highlighted that the public sector is the spine of India’s economy. The public sector enterprises contribute not only by making profits and raising revenues for the government’s social projects but also by creating a large number of jobs, promoting social inclusion and protecting India’s geopolitical interests.
Shri Arif Mohammad Khan aptly summed up the mission of the Public Sector in these words: “The Public Sector Enterprises are here to perform “nishkama karma.” They are not meant to work for their own profits but for the benefits of the society as a whole.”
Organized by ETGovernment, The Economic Times, the National PSU Residential Summit has the theme of “PSUs Driving Digital Innovation to Achieve Viksit Bharat – India @100.”
The Standing Committee on Pubic Enterprises (SCOPE) is the co-host to the National PSU Residential Summit. The Summit is being supported by four government bodies: Railtel, Central Warehousing Corporation, National Informatics Centre Services Inc. (NICSI) and T-Works. The private companies participating in the Summit are: Zscaler, Kyndryl, HCLSoftware, SenitelOne, eMudhra, Trilegal, Liferay STTelemedia, Rakuten SixthSense, Outsystems & ESDS, and CSM Technologies.
Over 150 guests from Central and state governments, Public Sector companies, private companies, institutions and media have arrived to speak and participate in the Summit.
The first Panel Discussion on November 21 titled: Innovating and Modernizing PSUs through Technology. This panel had the participation of: Santosh Sinha, Managing Director, Central Warehousing Corporation, Dr Vikas Kumar, Managing Director, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, Dr Rajesh Kumar Mishra, Managing Director, National Informatics Centre Services Inc, Naveen Srivastava, Director (Operations), Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd, Durga G K, Executive Director (Software), Bharat Electronics Ltd, Kuldeep Singh, Executive and Head – Industry Business Development – Govt./PSUs, Kyndryl
Arpit Gupta, Senior Associate Editor, ETGovernment – The Economic Times, was the moderator. It was highlighted during the course of the Panel Discussion that the Public Sector Units have the opportunity to leverage technology-driven growth to promote economic, social, and financial inclusion across India. The panelists noted that by leveraging data-driven decision-making, PSUs are enhancing transparency and performance, while automation helps streamline processes and reduce costs.
The next, and the last Panel Discussion of the day, titled “New Frontiers for PSUs to Achieve Energy Security and Sustainable Growth” was moderated by Anoop Verma, Editor-News, ETGovernment. The eminent speakers who participated in the panel were:
APM Muhammad Hanish, Principal Secretary, Industries Department, Government of Kerala, Arun Mahesh Babu, Managing Director, Gujarat Power Corporation Ltd, Deepak Gupta, Director (Projects), GAIL (India) Ltd, K K Joshi, Director (Operations & BD), Bharat PetroResources Ltd, Santanu Mukherjee, Group General Manager (Geology), Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Ltd.
The important insight that came out of deliberations in this Panel Discussion was that the Public Sector Enterprises have significant presence in sectors which can have significant impact on the environment. These are sectors like: natural resources, minerals, metals, infrastructure and power. For this reason, the role of the public sector is important in enabling the country to achieve its long-term goal of becoming net-zero by 2070 while also ensuring energy security and sustainable economic growth.
Day 2 of the National PSU Residential Summit ‘24 is now underway. The hall at Hotel Crowne Plaza is packed with guests listening to the deliberations of the senior government officials, PSU leaders and private company technocrats.
