H D Kumaraswamy flags concern over profit margins of BHEL

Bengaluru: Union Minister of Heavy Industries H D Kumaraswamy, on Tuesday, expressed concern over the profit margins of  public sector company Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) despite it receiving substantial orders.

While emphasising the importance of vigilant management to avoid potential risks, he said that  it is the responsibility of officials and workers to ensure that  BHEL maintains financial health. 

"Despite public sector enterprises facing many challenges, BHEL continues to operate profitably, with significant contributions to the power sector, where it holds over 40% market share in the thermal power segment, as well as to the Indian Army and the space sector, " he said during his visit to one of the PSU’s facilities in Bengaluru

The Minister also made a reference to several review meetings held in New Delhi to assess the company’s performance and  expressed hope that BHEL would continue to thrive by not plunging into the financial difficulties faced by other  industries in Bengaluru, such as Hindustan Machine Tools Limited (HMT),  Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) ,Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL), and Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL).

On August 23, Kumaraswamy told DH that he is pushing for  re-investment” at public sector undertakings whose revival, he said, is challenging.

“There are some decisions already made. I want to reverse such decisions in order to bring reforms and revive PSUs. I’m trying to convince those concerned about this,” he said. 

Pointing out that several PSUs have already shut down and some are on the verge of closure, Kumaraswamy said that he is trying to revive the likes of HMT,  the Visvesvaraya Iron & Steel Plant and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd.