With the UPA Government under attack for ‘policy paralysis' and ‘arbitrary' decisions, including awarding 2G licences, the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is on overdrive, seeking inputs from all Ministries in a bid to improve the Government's performance.

This move comes ahead of Parliament's Budget session expected to begin mid-March.

The PMO has asked each division within Ministries to send inputs to the respective Parliament section (dealing with Parliament questions), which will collate these and send them to the PMO.

Inputs sought

The inputs sought include allegations against Ministries, controversies and incidents of lack of action. The points should also include where rules are yet to be implemented with respect to Acts that have been passed.

Besides, Ministries have been asked to forward a list of policies that need to be fast-tracked and those that are being successfully implemented.

“The PMO wants to ensure that the Government is fully prepared to face the Opposition during the Budget session,” official sources told Business Line .

PSUs investment plans

The PM and the PMO have convened some important meetings in the past two months.

During one such meeting, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, Mr Pulok Chaterjee, urged major PSUs to review their investment plans.

The PSUs — which hold significant cash and bank balances – were asked to draw up credible investment programmes and implement them with vigour to achieve maximum benefits for themselves and the economy.

The meeting discussed investment plans of 17 PSUs which hold cash and bank balance in excess of Rs 1,000 crore and have future investment plans of above Rs 1,000 crore.

These 17 companies have an investment plan of over Rs 1.76 lakh crore, of which Rs 1.41 lakh crore will be invested domestically. These companies also have cash and bank balances of Rs 1.62 lakh crore.

The PMO has already instructed the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion to set up an inter-ministerial monitoring system for large infrastructure projects to speed up clearance. This instruction came in the wake of the PM's and the PMO's meetings with top private power producers.

Also, the Prime Minister, Dr Manmohan Singh, called a meeting of National Skill Development Council on January 19, to discuss a blueprint for providing quality training to around eight crore people in the nextfive5 years.

Recently, the PMO had faced flak from the Supreme Court for its handling of a complaint relating to the 2G case. Acting on Janata Party President, Dr Subramanian Swamy's, plea in a 2G case-related matter, the court had pulled up the PMO for keeping Dr Swamy's plea (seeking the PM's sanction to prosecute the then Telecom Minister) “pending” and not apprising the PM about the seriousness of the allegations.

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