PSU selloff to resume next month

Govt aims at raising Rs 30,000 cr this fiscal

The Centre has finally decided to resume disinvestment of public sector undertakings with the first public offer likely next month.

Disinvestment Secretary Haleem Khan announced on Wednesday that shares of many companies including MMTC, Hindustan Copper and Neyveli Lignite would go under the hammer this fiscal.

The government had budgeted Rs 30,000 crore proceeds from disinvestment in the fiscal year ending March 2013, but  the process is yet to start.

Khan said the Department of Disinvestment was hopeful of getting approvals of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs for divestment. Immediately after the announcement, shares of the targeted companies witnessed surge.

The divestment secretary said it would be difficult to achieve the divestment target in this fiscal. He said most PSU companies would comply with the minimum public shareholding norms by June 2013. Only sick PSUs may have trouble meeting the free float norms by the deadline.

Last month, the initial public offer (IPO) of Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) was deferred by the government due to weak market conditions. The Rs 2,500-crore RINL issue was originally proposed for July. Besides, stake sales of State Trading Corporation and Bharat Heavy Electricals are also on cards. Volatile market conditions also put the BHEL divestment on the backburner in April this year.

Economists are of the view that it is important for the government to raise non-tax revenues through disinvestment and 2G spectrum sales in the absence of adequate tax collections this year. The proceeds raised through disinvestment will help the government achieve target of reducing fiscal deficit to 5.1 per cent during the current fiscal.

In last fiscal, the government had budgeted a divestment target at Rs 40,000 crore, but failed to meet it due to weak market conditions and policy inaction.

The government could raise only Rs 13,900 crore through its disinvestment programme in the last fiscal, of which Rs 12,800 crore was mopped up through sale of ONGC shares.