NITI Aayog to submit PSU strategic sale roadmap this month

To come up with strategies to sell stake in some units, and to close down units that have been sick for a long time

NITI Aayog will submit a blueprint for divesting government's stake in some public sector undertakings (PSUs) and strategic sale of those that have been sick for a long time by this month.

"The NITI Aayog will come with two different lists this month. First list will be of those PSUs where government can sell its stake to maximise proceeds from such divestments.

"The Aayog will submit another list of state-run firms which have been sick for a long time and cannot be revived. Aayog will recommend their closure and selling off accordingly," a source said.

Asked whether it is possible to chalk out a strategic sale programme by this month, the source said, "If NITI Aayog does not come out with its roadmap for the disinvestment and strategic sale of PSUs soon, then there is no point of working on it. The very purpose of entrusting this task to Aayog is to expedite it."

Setting the ball rolling on strategic sale of PSUs, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and NITI Aayog started discussions earlier last month to identify state-run firms where government can divest its stake.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in his Budget 2016-17 speech that NITI Aayog will identify Public Sector Units for strategic sale.

Jaitley had said, "A new policy for management of government investment in Public Sector Enterprises, including disinvestment and strategic sale, has been approved. We have to leverage the assets of CPSEs for generation of resources for investment in new projects."

"We will encourage CPSEs to divest individual assets like land, manufacturing units, etc to release their asset value for making investment in new projects. The NITI Aayog will identify the CPSEs for strategic sale," he had said.

He had added that the government will adopt a comprehensive approach for efficient management of investment in CPSEs by addressing issues such as capital restructuring, dividend and bonus shares.

The Department of Disinvestment has been re-named DIPAM.

The government aims to collect Rs 56,500 crore through disinvestment in PSUs this fiscal, as per the Budget for 2016-17.

Of the total budgeted proceeds, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs, and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale in both profit and loss-making companies.

As regards 2015-16, the government has been able to meet less than half the Budget estimates at Rs 25,312 crore as against the target of Rs 69,500 crore.

It had raised around Rs 24,500 crore in 2014-15 by selling stake in public companies; about Rs 16,000 crore in 2013-14 and Rs 23,960 crore in 2012-13. It had raised around Rs 14,000 crore in 2011-12 and over Rs 22,100 crore in 2010-11.