Privatization can mean several different things, most commonly referring to moving something from the public sector into the private sector. It is the transfer of control of production and services from the Government to the Private sector. It is allowing private or corporate investors to participate in the market. It is also sometimes used as a synonym for deregulation when a heavily regulated private company or industry becomes less regulated. Government functions and services may also be privatised in this case; private entities are tasked with the implementation of government programs or performance of government services that had previously been the purview of state-run agencies.
The students of B.A. Semester V and M.A. Semester II those who participated in the discussion put forward their different views regarding the effects of Privatization. They were given S minutes of time and they were instructed to present their ideas in a very crisp way. Students such as Sumit Singh, Piyush Rai, Ankit Kumar, Gyan Chand Pandey. Nilesh Gupta, Rachita Saha, Aditya Kumar, Mrinal Jha, Manika Pandey gave very interesting facts to prove their points.
Piyush Kumar Said: Privatisation as a boon or bane depends on the context. But as he was in the favour of the motion, he gave several points to prove his point such as Competition leads to efficiency, it provides better products & standards of living, and it provides a better system than a public structure because Government-run enterprises in a sense have a political mindset instead of an economic one. They might employ surplus labour even if by doing that their undertakings become inefficient. Collectively, this leads to more taxes and revenues for the Government, in the form of more investment being made in the economy leading to more income for the factors of production, which again leads to more savings.
Ankit Kumar emphasized the point that Privatization is a bane because it gives rise to exploitation. Since privatization is so focused on competition that it leads to exploitation Private companies exploit their workers, by making them work for more hours and giving them less salary, atleast in India which arises due to the need to be efficient. He also mentioned that Private insestors are totally focused on the Economic point of view of the business.
Rachita Saha emphasized the point that Privatization gives you freedom if choice. If your don’t like one service, you’re free to use the other. If you don’t like public service, tough luck. it’s the only choice available whereas Nilesh Gupta was of the view that Public services by definition have to serve everyone (unless there’s some systematic discrimination going on) Private companies have the freedom to deny service, usually based on the ability to pay. This is especially problematic with essentials such as healthcare, utilities, or education.
Gyan Chand Pandey highlighted the point that Private companies are motivated by profit while government services are meant to serve the public (at least in theory). This means that public services can continue operating in the red and not have to worry, Privatization if done poorly can lead to a monopoly whereas Manika Pandey said Public agencies have the tendency to get tied up in red tape, leading to less efficient decision-making when compared to private companies, Private companies tend to be more efficient than public services because they are accountable to shareholders and customers.
Mrinal Jha emphasized that the public sector provides job security. In a crisis like the current pandemic, public service workers don’t necessarily lose their jobs whereas Aditya Kumar said that the Public sectors make people inefficient but the Private sectors improve efficiency.
The comparing of the program was done by Anjali Tripathi and Deepak Kumar gave the vote of thanks. It has really been an interactive session and students enjoyed the session.