The Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) has questioned the quality of
Meghalaya’s investments in the state’s public sector enterprises, warning that public money continues to sit in poorly performing entities, producing almost no return and adding to fiscal stress.
The finding comes as the state leans more heavily on borrowed funds to meet expenditure.
The government had put Rs 4,322.52 crore into 11 State Public Sector Enterprises (SPSEs) up to 2024-25. In that year, among those 11 entities, only the Meghalaya State Warehousing Corporation returned anything – Rs 0.06 crore, or virtually zero per cent on the capital locked in.
The CAG also flags a mismatch with the cost of money: those investments were financed at an average
borrowing rate of 5.31 per cent.
The Finance Accounts widen the picture. As of March 31, 2025, investment in companies, corporations and other bodies stood at Rs 4,444.43 crore — Rs 4,215.15 crore in government companies, Rs 107.37 crore in statutory corporations and Rs 121.91 crore in cooperative banks, societies and other bodies.
Dividend and interest received against this portfolio in 2024-25 was only Rs 0.20 crore. The audit’s concern is not simply whether individual PSUs booked a profit or a loss, but whether the capital committed to them earns an adequate economic return.