Government could lower stake in CPSEs to 49%; proposal will not include firms that are of strategic importance

The Centre is reportedly planning to cut its stake in government-run companies, like NTPC Ltd, Steel Authority of India (SAIL) and Power Grid Corporation (PGCIL),  to 49 percent, according to a media report. The government has set a timeline of three years to lower its stake in most central public sector enterprises (CPSEs). There are over 250 CPSEs in which the government holds a 51 percent stake or more, according to a report in The Economic Times. However, CPSEs that operate in sectors of strategic importance, such as defence and oil, will not be included in this plan. [caption id=“attachment_3730381” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI.[/caption] “In some companies such as BPCL and HPCL the government has to maintain at least 51 percent holding as a Supreme Court verdict in 2003 had restrained the government from privatising them,” a government official was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Fuel retailer Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) beat Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC) for the second year in a row to become India’s most profitable state-owned company. IOC, which has for decades been India’s biggest company by turnover, in May posted a record net profit of Rs 21,346 crore for the fiscal year ended 31 March, 2018 (FY 2017-18), up 12 percent from Rs 19,106 crore in the previous fiscal. ONGC’s FY18 numbers showed the explorer logged a 11.4 percent rise in net profit to Rs 19,945 crore. For fiscal 2017-18, HPCL reported its highest-ever net profit of Rs 6,357 crore on a turnover of Rs 2.43 lakh crore. BPCL reported a net profit of Rs 7,919 crore for the fiscal. With inputs from PTI