STRATEGIC SECTOR

STRATEGIC SECTOR

Subject : Economy

Context : Highlighting the need for strong indigenous pharma companies, a Parliamentary panel has recommended that the pharma industry should be categorised as a “strategic sector” and called for a necessary follow-up action in this regard.

Concept :

• The Committee said it was of the strong opinion that pharma sector plays a very important role to keep the nation healthy and strong, and this has been quite apparent during the current pandemic when the need for strong indigenous pharma companies has been realised with more intensity.

Strategic Sectors of India

• An industry is considered strategic if it has large innovative spillovers and if it provides a substantial infrastructure for other firms in the same or related industries.
• Earlier, the strategic sectors were defined on the basis of industrial policy.
• The government classified Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) as ‘strategic’ and ‘non-strategic’ on the basis of industrial policy that keeps on changing from time-to-time.

According to this, the Strategic sector PSUs are:

• Arms & Ammunition of defence equipment
• Defence aircraft & warships
• Atomic energy
• Applications of radiation to agriculture, medicine and non-strategic industry
• Railways
• Banking, insurance, defence, and energy are likely to be part of the strategic sector list.
• All other PSUs apart from the strategic sectors fall under Non-strategic Sector including Power Discoms.