Union Minister of Finance and Corporate Affairs of India Nirmala Sitharaman visited the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation pavilion on 9 June 2022. Accompanied by the Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel, she was there to inaugurate the Exhibition on “Nation Building and CPSEs” for the Azadi Ka Amrit Mahotsav Mega Show in Mahatma Mandir Convention & Exhibition Centre, Gandhinagar. Based on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of AtmaNirbhar Bharat, the exhibition has 75 Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) showcasing their contribution for the same.

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman & Chief Minister of Gujarat Bhupendra Rajnikant Patel
in conversation with CMD Dr Alka Mittal & Director (Finance) Pomila Jaspal

The Union Minister and the Chief Minister showed keen interest in the ONGC Pavilion and spoke at length for almost seven minutes with CMD Dr Alka Mittal, and Director (Finance) Pomila Jaspal. Discussing many aspects of ONGC’s operations, they were accompanied by many officials from the Maharatna.

Celebrating ONGC’s contribution to nation-building, the Maharatna pavilion garnered a lot of attention from the attendees at the AKAM Mega Show. With the central attraction of the pavilion being a dungaree clad figure, wearing a helmer, based on the standard ONGC Energy Soldier holding a torch. It was in line with the theme of the pavilion that is to highlight ONGC as the ‘torchbearer for India’s energy’.  With a working model of Sucker Rod Russian Pumping Unit at display, the pavilion also has many samples of crude oil and rocks at display. Focusing on Vindhyan Basin’s discovery in 2022, the pavilion primarily highlighted ONGC’s journey since 1956, with its many achievements, both national and international, shaping the evolution of India’s self-reliance.

ONGC Pavilion at Exhibition on “Nation Building and CPSEs”

A roundtable on the ‘Role of CPSEs for a self-reliant India’ also took place on the occasion with the plantation of 75,000 saplings going on from 6 to 12 June across India to commemorate 75 years of Indian Independence. Organized by the Department of Public Enterprises, the AKAM Mega Show inaugural session had the Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs and the Chief Minister of Gujarat virtually inaugurate two townships of CPSEs, NTPC Solapur and BEL, Bangalore as mini smart cities.

Speaking at the inaugural session, the Union Finance Minister discussed the scope for expansion, scaling up and diversifying core sectors that will be instrumental for CPSEs. She also commented that it was time for the PSEs to show that they are keen to improve on their professionalism. She requested them to bring down overheads where possible and open avenues for private sector where it can be managed. The Union Minister asked the CPSEs to be conscious of the level of competition with private sectors, so that they might be able to stand up and prove better efficiencies.

Union Minister of Finance & Corporate Affairs Nirmala Sitharaman speaking at the AKAM Mega Show

Remarking the event to be of strategic importance and national interest for CPSEs, the Union Minister implored to look at opportunities to benefit from Web 3, Industrial Revolution 4.0, diving into deep data. Reiterating digitised benefits to scale up efficiencies, she opined how the next 25 years would be India’s ‘Amrit Kal’. In this period, Indian CPSEs must become global in scale and efficiency to set new benchmarks for public sector entities everywhere in the world.