NOTES * 63 mixed economy in India. Pai claims that his approach is ^geared on industrial priority rather than on sectoral precedence". 8 In his words, ^production in nodal industries is as important to the country as they would have been had they been in public sector"/ But, what arc the fiscal, monetary and other instruments of regulation and control meant for if they cannot discipline the private sector to conform to national priorities? Is it necessary to dilute the ownership of public sector to achieve these priorities? In operational terms, Pai^s argument is nothing but a flimsy pretext for opening the profit-making public enterprises to private ownership and control. Which private individual will be interested in the shares of a public undertaking incurring losses even if every public sector unit is thrown open for private subscription? When an individual has the Opportunity of earning 10 per cent elsewhere without bearing any risk whatsoever why should he be interested in public sector shares yielding anything less than 12 to 15 per cent as dividend? That obviously is the reason why such lucrative undertakings like Scooters India is chosen for private participation. Units like Hindustan Machine Tools arc also talked about. In effect, this would mean sharing the profits of public undertakings with private subscribers just when some of the public sector units are turning the corner by way of a better operating result. Surpluses from public enterprises might as well be ploughed back in further expansion or in new avenues of investment. Why should it be frittered away by way of dividends to private shareholders who may not save and invest all the dividend income? Camel in the Tent It is claimed that the efficiency of working of public enterprises could be improved "through somewhat more effective functioning of accountability, in this case, to the new body of shareholders supplementing to the existing arrangements for accountability to the people through parliament"7. Whoever established that private sector maintains the public interest more consciously than the public sector? Obviously, this view is based on the common misunderstanding that profit is an index of efficiency or social desirability. Often it is not. Time and again it has been -established how a few dominant owners commit fraud on the consuming public, government and even on the general run of shareholders. Very often, the long-term interests of the enterprise is sacrificed for short-term gains of a few individuals. How else did a large number of units in textiles, sugar, cement or engineering become so sick that the government had to go to their rescue? No doubt, there is a lot to be desired about the instruments of legislative control and the effectiveness with which the performance of public sector is controlled. That docs not mean that we have to depend on the private sector or the stock market to discipline the operations of the public sector undertakings.