The finance ministry will finalise its policy on strategic sales in public sector units over the next few months but is geared up to launch stake sales of smaller quantum from next month.
“The announcement in the Union Budget on strategic sales is a statement of intent. The exact policy on strategic sales — what PSUs would be sold off, the amount of stake to be sold, etc will be worked out over the next few months,” disinvestment secretary Aradhana Johri told The Indian Express.
With a target of Rs 69,500 crore for 2015-16 from disinvestment proceeds, finance minister Arun Jaitley had said in the Union Budget 2015-16, “The Budget reflects considerable scaling up of disinvestment figures. This will include both disinvestment in loss making units, and some strategic disinvestment.”
While disinvestment receipts have been pegged at Rs 41,000 crore, strategic disinvestment is estimated to yield Rs 28,500 crore next fiscal.
But expressing confidence over meeting the target, Johri said that the department is ready with a rolling target that includes a number of PSUs for where approvals are already in place.
“We already have a number of PSUs where all clearances have been taken. These include some small PSUs, while there are also a large number of metal companies. Two big PSUs that are lined up for stakes sales next fiscal are IOC and ONGC but the subsidy sharing formula has to come in place,” Johri said, adding that more PSUs would be lined up during the course of the year.
The department of disinvestment would also not bunch up stake sales towards the end of the fiscal but would try to have them all round the year, she stressed.
Accordingly, the department has lined up over one dozen PSUs for stake sales of 5 per cent to 10 per cent. These include a 5 per cent disinvestment in DCIL, 10 per cent disinvestment in Nalco, 5 per cent disinvestment in BHEL Ltd, 5 per cent disinvestment in ONGC Ltd 10 per cent disinvestment in Indian Oil Corporation and a 10 per cent disinvestment in NMDC.
Additionally, it is also plans to sell 10 per cent government equity in SJVN Ltd and MOIL Ltd along with disinvestment in NHPC, Power Finance Corp, Rural Electrification Corp. Approvals are also in place for initial public offers in Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd and RINL Ltd.
In 2014-15 the Centre raised Rs 24,500 crore from disinvestment in PSUs as against the Revised estimate of Rs 26,353 crore. It is unlikely to conduct any further stake sales this fiscal.
