Disinvestment process progressing as per schedule: FM Jaitley

New Delhi: Eyeing Rs. 58,425 crore by selling government stake in PSUs this year, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley has said that the disinvestment process is progressing as scheduled.

“The Department of Disinvestment (DoD) has already appointed advisors in some cases and the follow-up actions on those PSUs on some part of equity is to be divested is already progressing as scheduled,” he said after addressing the Central Board of the Reserve Bank in Delhi on Sunday.

The process for disinvestment in ONGC and NHPC, among others, has already been started.

[caption id=“attachment_89951” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Arun Jaitley. PTI[/caption]

Also, the government is looking to sell a 5 percent stake in SAIL and 10 percent each in RINL and HAL in the current fiscal year besides an outright sale of Tyre Corporation of India.

The disinvestment of 10 percent through an initial public offer (IPO) in Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) is tentatively scheduled for completion in the current financial year.

At present, the disinvestment department is engaged in outright sale of only one CPSE (Central public sector enterprise), Tyre Corporation of India (TCIL).

The Cabinet has also approved sale of residual government equity in Hindustan Zinc and Balco.

“We have certainly given the figure involved in that and the DoD is working on it,” Mr Jaitley added.

In the Budget, the government estimated to collect Rs. 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs and another Rs. 15,000 crore from sale of residual stake in erstwhile government companies.

Of the disinvestment target of Rs. 40,000 crore in 2013-14, the government had mobilised Rs. 15,820 crore. In 2012-13, of the Rs. 30,000 crore target, Rs. 23,957 crore was raised.

In 2011-12, only Rs. 13,894 crore was raised of the Rs. 40,000 crore target.

PTI