VSNL on Monday notified the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) that the government has fixed December 31, 2001 as time frame for disinvestment of its stake in the corporation.

When contacted, VSNL chairman and managing director SK Gupta declined to comment on the issue.Earlier this month, the government appointed SBI Caps-Credit Swiss First Boston as global consultants for the privatisation of VSNL, with a mandate to help the government offload 25 per cent equity to a strategic partner, and offer 1.97 per cent of the equity to the employees through Employee Stock Option Scheme (Esop).