India PM Modi Seeks to Revive ‘zombie factories’

At British India Corporation’s textile factory in northern India, four men sit in a control room watching computerized gauges eight hours a day. When they are done, another group takes over, and then another, for 24 hours a day – much as they might at any major industrial plant.

The problem is, nothing is produced there.  The strange tale of British India Corporation is an example of how political patronage and India’s strict labor laws keep publicly owned companies going long after they are insolvent.

Now Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who campaigned in this year’s general election on a promise of “minimum government, maximum governance”, is preparing to invest more taxpayer money in ailing state-owned factories in a bid to turn them around.

CNBC

Content is for general information purposes only. It is not investment advice or a solution to buy or sell securities. Opinions are the authors; not necessarily that of OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc. or any of its affiliates, subsidiaries, officers or directors. If you would like to reproduce or redistribute any of the content found on MarketPulse, an award winning forex, commodities and global indices analysis and news site service produced by OANDA Business Information & Services, Inc., please access the RSS feed or contact us at info@marketpulse.com. Visit https://www.marketpulse.com/ to find out more about the beat of the global markets. © 2023 OANDA Business Information & Services Inc.