New Delhi: With the appointment of Mallika Srinivasan, chairman and managing director of Tractors and Farm Equipment Ltd (TAFE), as the chairperson of Public Enterprises Selection Board, the union government has indicated a significant change in its playbook pertaining to the appointment of senior levels executives in central public sector enterprises. Srinivasan will be the first corporate leader to assume this position.
This shows the Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance government is ready to seek help from corporate leaders to make the process of selecting senior officials more efficient.
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The decision holds significance as PM Modi earlier this year had said, though public sector enterprises are important for the country, private wealth creators should be respected and they are equally important for the development of the economy in the coming years.
Speaking in the Lok Sabha, Modi had added that gone are the days when public sector enterprises would be solely responsible for major projects. Private companies should also be given equal importance, he had said.
"It is government's duty to support enterprises and businesses. But it is not essential that it should own and run enterprises," Modi had said.
As the head of the Chennai-based TAFE, Srinivasan was instrumental in a developing the company into country’s second largest tractor manufacturer. She is also the spouse of Venu Srinivasan, chairman, TVS Motor Co.
A graduate from the prestigious University of Pennsylvania, in the US, Srinivasan is also a member of the board of directors of Tata Steel Ltd, one of the country’s biggest steel manufacturers. She is also a part of the governing board of leading educational institutions like Indian Institute of Technology, Madras and Indian School of Business, Hyderabad.
The Chennai-based tractor and other agriculture machinery manufacturer is the third largest tractor manufacturer in the world and the second largest in India by volumes, with an annual sale of about 150,000 tractors and has presence in over 100 countries, including developed countries in Europe and the Americas. TAFE is also a significant shareholder in AGCO Corporation, USA - a US $9.1 billion tractor and agricultural equipment manufacturer.
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