Divestment target within govt's reach
North block pushing for sale of government equity in Maruti Udyog and Bhel
| The ministry hopes to generate around Rs 2,000 crore through the sale of equity in these companies in the current fiscal year. The government holds 67.7 per cent stake in Bhel and 18.2 per cent in Maruti Udyog. | |||||
| It has already generated Rs 2,600 crore through the sale of 5.2 per cent stake in National Thermal Power Corporation. | |||||
| The government has also decided to accept capital from public sector banks by selling a part of its stake through a public issue. | |||||
| Punjab National Bank, which is planning a public offer in March, is expected to contribute about Rs 1,000 crore to the government's disinvestment kitty. | |||||
| Power Finance Corporation and Power Grid Corporation of India are the other companies on the Centre's disinvestment list for the year. | |||||
| The government is also bound by the shareholder's agreement to sell its residual 49 per cent equity in Balco and is hoping to complete the transaction during the current fiscal year. | |||||
| While 44 per cent stake is to be sold to Sterlite, the remaining 5 per cent is proposed to be offered to employees. | |||||
| "We have been pushing for divestment in Maruti and Bhel in this financial year. We want to do it this year, otherwise there could be problems for fiscal deficit," said a finance ministry official. | |||||
| Finance Minister P Chidambaram has already met Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over this issue, he said, adding, "Even a 5 per cent stake sale in Bhel will give us a substantial amount." | |||||
| Officials in the heavy industry ministry, the nodal ministry for Bhel and Maruti, had earlier been arguing against the immediate sale of equity but later veered around to the view that they would consider the proposal to improve the Centre's financial position. | |||||
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