Disinvestment Ministry Aims To Sell 30 Psus Next Fiscal

Encouraged by the Supreme Court order on the disinvestment of Bharat Aluminium Company, the ministry of disinvestment is planning to accelerate the disinvestment process. It is targetting a sale of 30 companies in the next fiscal, a sharp increase from the 13 companies targetted in this year.

These include big ticket public sector units like Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd, Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and Shipping Corporation of India.

The ministry will take a list of companies which plans to divest in 2002-03 to the next meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Disinvestment (CCD).

The meeting, which is likely to be held next week, will also discuss the list of companies to be referred to the Disinvestment Commission.

Among the other companies, which are likely to be taken up by the CCD, is Container Corporation of India and Rail India Technical and Engineering Services (RITES).

A revised proposal for the disinvestment of Hindustan Copper Ltd, which envisages sale of 74 per cent stake, will also be put up for consideration to the CCD.

The proposal for selling the second tranche of the government equity in Modern Foods is also likely to be considered by the CCD.

Other than these, the remaining properties of Hotel Corporation of India and the second tranche of the India Tourism Development Corporation divestment programme will also be discussed.

Eight ITDC hotels in Delhi and one each in Varanasi, Udaipur and Manali will be put up for sale. Ashok Yatri Nivas and Kanishka are being put on the block together as the government has found it difficult to disentangle the properties. Meanwhile, the Madras High Court withdrew the stay order on the sale of the ITDC property in Madurai.

This fiscal, the disinvestment ministry had announced its intention to privatise 13 companies including IBP, Maruti Udyog, Videsh Sanchar Nigam Ltd, Hindustan Zinc Ltd, Bharat Heavy Plates and Valves, Instrumentation Ltd and Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd.