New Delhi (08.07.2021): The Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), which has been a part of the Ministry of Heavy Industries and Public Enterprises till July 07, 2021, has been merged with the Finance Ministry.

Accordingly, the Cabinet Secretariat has notified the matter and amended the Government of India (Allocation of Business) Rules, 1961 to place the Department of Public Enterprises (Lok Udyam Vibhag) under the Finance Ministry.

At the administrative level, the move is designed to ensure better coordination between the department of investment and public asset management, which is already part of the FinMin, and the DPE.

At the political level, it is seen to send out a strong signal to the opponents of Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman, who have been persistently betting on her departure from the Ministry in view of the pandemic-induced economic slowdown, which the government sees more as cyclical than structural.  

The merger sends out the message to the market that the government is serious about monetizing the public assets instead of counting only on mopping the tax revenue that has taken a beating because of the pandemic and because there is a limit to which the government may tax the people.

Further, despite the DPE transfer to FinMin, the Heavy Industry Ministry will continue to do the heavy lifting for the automobile and capital goods sector. It will have as many as 44 areas for administrative work, including certain PSUs such as BHEL, Cement Corporation, and Scooters India.

Following the merger of DPE, the FinMin now has six departments that includes; Economic Affairs, Revenue, Expenditure, Financial Service, DIPAM and DPE.