The radical shift in Government policy has brought the concept of the joint sector into sharp focus. It is nothing but a form of partnership between the public sector and the private sector.
Although the Joint Sector concept was conceived by the authors of the 1956 Industrial Policy Resolution, it was really the brainchild of the Industrial Licensing Policy Enquiry Committee, popularly known as the Dutta Committee.
Besides the public and the private sector, there was need for a new sector—a joint sector—for the harmonious industrial development of the economy. The joint sector is envisaged as something in between the public and the private sector and in which the state could actively participate in management, control and decision-making.
Image Source: bestadvice.co.uk
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It is claimed that the joint sector scheme has the advantages of both the public and the private sectors and at the same time avoids the evils of both sectors and thus fulfils the basic socio-economic objectives of the country.
Moreover, it offers an avenue of growth when all other gates to growth seem to have been closed.
The concept of a joint sector is basically an extension of the idea of mixed economy in which the public and private sector units are separate and function independently but are nevertheless part of a national plan.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
It is a compromise between total nationalisation and complete private autonomy. In the joint sector, the relationship between the representatives of the private and public sectors is much closer as they have to work together within the same unit.
The joint sector was recommended for units where a large proportion of the cost of a new project was to be met by public financial institutions either directly or through their support.
There are three different concepts of joint sector: First, financial institutions can exercise the right to convert debt into equity and appoint directors on company boards.
Secondly, Government may appoint directors on company boards through the exercise of powers granted by the Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act to check malpractices.
ADVERTISEMENTS:
This need not involve share participation and must not be confused with the joint sector. The third form is the real joint sector where the Government directly, or through its agencies, is a co- shareholder in an enterprise. The Government in this case plays a promotional and entrepreneurial role and is an active majority partner.
In a memorandum submitted to the Government, JRD Tata suggested a slightly different definition of the joint sector. “A joint sector enterprise is intended to be a form of partnership between the private sector and the Government in which the State participation of capital will not be less than 26 per cent, the day-to-day management will normally be in the hands of the private sector partner, and control and supervision will be exercised by a board of directors on which government is adequately represented”.
The Dutta Committee advocated conversion of some of the private sector units into joint sector enterprises as an important means of curbing the concentration of economic power in certain private groups.
A number of new industrial projects had been established in the private sector with the help of funds provided by public financial institutions but the latter had not asked for a voice in the management.
It was strange that huge private industrial empires should be built up with funds provided by public institutions without knowing how the money was actually spent. The Dutta Committee asked the Government to enunciate a new industrial policy whereby this anomaly could be rectified.
There was a change in the industrial policy without there being a change in the 1956 Policy Resolution. The Government announced the new industrial policy in February 1970. The joint sector concept as suggested by the Dutta Committee was accepted in principle.
It was laid down that while sanctioning loans or subscribing to debentures, public financial institutions should in future have the option to convert them into equity within a specified period of time. Specific guidelines had been laid down.
In case the aggregate loans granted were below Rs. 25 lakh, the financial institutions are not to insert any convertibility clause in the agreement. If the loans granted were between Rs. 25 lakh and Rs. 50 lakh, it is optional for the financial institutions to insert a convertibility clause in the agreement. Once convertibility was agreed to, the undertaking is required to appoint representatives of the lending institutions as directors on company board.
It is not difficult to understand the logic behind the joint sector. As has been emphasised by the then Prime Minister, the old concepts of exclusive private ownership and private profit do not fit in with today’s social values and priorities.
An open society requires an open corporate structure; the joint sector provides this openness without taking away the advantages of private enterprise and initiative. The joint sector is a departure from exclusive private ownership but it should be welcomed in preference to outright nationalisation.
The joint sector experiment has been viewed with misgivings by many industrialists. It has been assailed as “nationalisation by the backdoor”.
But others have welcomed it on the ground that it is preferable to wholesale nationalisation of existing private undertakings. There is one serious objection to the joint sector.
The concept is based on mutual trust and confidence, yet the idea originated because the private sector could not be trusted enough to grow on its own. Thus, conceived in mistrust, the marriage might be a disastrous failure.
The joint sector was evolved to check the concentration of economic power of private groups. But some think it is not necessary to check the concentration of economic power as the existing Monopolies and Restrictive Trade Practices Act was adequate for the purpose.