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One of the professed objectives of public sector intervention in the free market in India is to promote balanced regional development. How far has this objective been realized through locational decisions for the manufacturing establishments under the Central or State governments Have the employment opportunities generated though these projects helped the labour force belonging to the region. Has there been any indirect benefit occurring to the local population in the form of improved transport and communication facilities Have the public sector enterprises generated substantial revenues directly through their annual profits or indirectly through royalty, excise duties, sales tax etc. The questions of this type are being raised with regard to several manufacturing units set up by the government in the backward regions of the country. A few micro level studies have been made that focus on the changes brought about in the region by the location of massive public sector enterprises. Information currently available in the published from are, however, highly inadequate for assessing the impact of such investment decisions on the local economy. The present study makes an attempt to evaluate the impact of the establishment of Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited at Bhopal, based on both primary and secondary data. It provides an indepth study of both qualitative and quantitative information that would go a long way in planning similar projects in future. The economics of the BHEL plant, its impact on the city of Bhopal and its hinterland, the changes in socio-economic characteristics occurring during the past thirty years, etc., have been analysed through secondary statistics. Field surveys have been carried out in order to examine the impact of the factory on its immediate neighbouhood within the city and the surrounding villages. The study thus comes forward with definitive answers to some of the questions raised above for the BHEL unit in Bhopal. More importantly, it works out a frame-work within which answers to these questions can be sought for the public sector enterprises in general.ISBN:8170220459
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Pages : 178
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