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Oil India CMD Ranjit Rath said on Thursday that Public Sector Enterprises (PSEs) have a responsibility of not only running a business but doing so with the intent of serving social commitments.  

Addressing the plenary session at the CII PSE Summit here, the OIL Chairman said: "The collective procurement of PSEs has a huge bearing on the Indian economy. Whether it is for oil & gas, steel, coal, or large-scale equipment, PSEs not only facilitate the manufacturing ecosystem of the country but also encourage young entrepreneurs to think big and scale up their businesses."

In his address, Government-e-Marketplace (GeM) Additional CEO, Ajit B. Chavan, said: "Of the Rs 10 lakh crore business that we have done since 2016 on the platform, almost 39 per cent has gone to the MSEs, promoting homegrown small industries."

The GeM portal has brought at least 10 per cent worth of savings to the government, which can be directed to other social development programs, he added.

Almost 1.6 lakh women-led MSEs and 27,000 startups are doing business on the GeM portal and the platform aims to increase this number to 1 lakh startups. All DPIIT-registered startups would be enrolled on the platform, he added.

Chavan said that this year, procurement worth Rs 5-6 lakh crore is expected to be done through the portal.

ONGC Videsh Managing Director Rajarshi Gupta called on PSEs to focus on skill development, AI and digital, and industry-academia collaboration. "AI and digital is the biggest opportunity for all of us. We also need to have more industry-academia collaboration to not only solve operational problems but also to do more research," he said.

He informed that ONGC has set a target to achieve net zero operational emissions for 2038 and set aside a budget of $24 billion. The investment will be spread across short-, medium-, and long-term horizons.

CII PSE Council Co-Chair and Engineers India Ltd Chairman & Managing Director Vartika Shukla underlined the need for PSEs to look at sustainability and innovation as part of their decision-making, investments and transformation. 

"PSEs have added wealth and value in every sector including steel, power, atomic energy, and defence, etc. They have not only committed to providing technical expertise but also contributed socially," she said and highlighted the contribution of PSEs in sustainability, supporting MSMEs and technology.