The government has decided to list state public sector enterprises, besides central public sector undertakings, although most of the country?s 1,160 state PSEs are sick units, according to disinvestment secretary Sumit Bose.
Bose said the accumulated losses of state PSEs, as of March 31, was Rs 66,000 crore but there were many good state PSEs that could be listed. So far, there are only six listed state PSEs.
Although Bose did not want to name the state PSEs that are eligible for listing, he said that in the next two years, some more state PSEs would get listed.
Bose added that according to the 13th Finance Commission?s estimates, if the government kept 51% holding in the country?s 473 central public sector undertakings, its value would stand at around Rs 3,81,000 crore. However, anal-ysts estimate that the disinvestment of all 473 central PSUs could generate Rs 20-25 lakh crore, which would be a great step towards fiscal consolidation.
Analysts have pegged the value of central PSUs at Rs 25 lakh crore, Bose said.
Currently, the government has targeted to generate Rs 40,000 crore from disinvestments. The first in the line for disinvestment now is Engineers India Ltd, which would have a follow on public offer (FPO), followed by the initial public offer of Coal India Ltd (CIL), the FPO of Hindustan Copper and SAIL. Power Grid Corporation might come up with an FPO between the FPO and IPO of EIL and CIL, Bose said.
He said the value of government holding in central power sector PSUs have gone up by 190% after being listed. All the proceeds of government disinvestment have been invested in social sector development and the proceeds of the disinvestment lined up would go in funding government programmes of National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, Indira Awas Yojana, Rajiv Gandhi Gramin Vidyutikaran Yojana, Jawaharlal Nehru New Urban Renewal Mission, Accelerated Irrigation Development Programme and Accelerated Power Development and Reform Programme, Bose added.