Rs 30,000 cr disinvestment target OK: FM
Finance Minister P Chidambaram on Monday expressed confidence that the government will raise Rs 30,000 crore from stake sale in the public sector undertakings (PSUs) in the next five months.
“The government expects to realise the budgeted receipts under disinvestment,” he said at a press conference.
The government has set Rs 30,000 crore disinvestment target for the current fiscal.
The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) has obtained approval of the Cabinet for disinvestment in Hindustan Copper Ltd, Nalco, SAIL, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Limited (RINL), BHEL, Oil India, MMTC and National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Chidambaram added.
Recently, Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) Secretary Arvind Mayaram had also said the Finance Ministry is hopeful of raising Rs 12,000-13,000 crore from stake sale in the public sector undertakings (PSUs) by December-end and Rs 30,000 crore in the full fiscal year.
The government, Chidambaram said will also be looking at divesting residual stake in PSU's which have been privatised earlier.
Finance Ministry officials are engaging in hectic parleys with the PSUs to speed up the process so that disinvestment can take place in the December and March quarters.
Although seven months have passed in the current fiscal, the government so far has not been able to come out with a public issue.
Raising adequate funds from disinvestment is necessary to keep in check the fiscal deficit, which is facing pressure due to rising food, fuel and fertiliser subsidy bills.
The government earlier deferred the initial public offer (IPO) of RINL due to weak stock market conditions. The Rs 2,500-crore RINL issue was originally
