Union Minister of Commerce and Industry, Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution and Textiles Shri Piyush Goyal has highlighted the vital role played by Non-Official Directors (NoDs) in improving the performance of Central Public Sector Undertakings (CPSUs). Shri Goyal interacted with NoD under his Ministries viz. India Trade Promotion, ECGC Ltd. (Export Credit Corporation of India), State Trading Corporation of India Ltd, MMTC Ltd. (Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India), PEC Ltd. (Projects and Equipment Corporation of India), State Trading Corporation of India Ltd Central Warehouse Corporation and Food Corporation of India. The meeting was attended by Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, Secretary, Food and Public Distribution and Consumer Affairs and Secretary, Ministry of Textiles and senior officials of all the three ministries.
During the interaction, Shri Piyush Goyal said that the expertise and experience of NoD will help the government to ensure the welfare of the citizens of India. He said NoD networks have become critical given the increased industry complexity. The minister added that NoDs are expected to bring an alternative perspective, provide an unbiased view of shortcomings and suggest measures for improvement.
Shri Goyal said that the NoD also serves as a role model for the employees and also protects the interests of all stakeholders. He, however, stressed that any mismanagement should be brought to the attention of the management with utmost urgency and also asked them not to influence the decisions of the CPSE and not get involved in specific cases. He said that the rich experience and rich knowledge of NoD remain true to the vision of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi who believes that they are an important link between the government and the people.
Secretaries of the Ministry of Commerce, Department of Food and Public Distribution and Ministry of Textiles also addressed the NoD meeting. In his speech, Shri B. V. R. Subrahmanyam, Secretary, Ministry of Commerce, said that NoDs should be well informed about the society and the environment in which they operate. Shri Sudhanshu Pandey, Secretary, Department of Food and Public Distribution (DFPD) gave an overview of the department. He said the department runs one of the world’s largest food distribution programs through NFSA and PMGKAY. Shri UP Singh, Secretary, Textile Industry also gave an overview of the Ministry of Textiles. He reiterated that India is a top producer of cotton and jute.
