Niti Aayog working on second list of PSU divestment

After submission of the first list of PSUs for closure or sell off to the government, Niti Aayog is now working on another list for disinvestment.

"We have submitted the first report on closure and strategic sale or disinvestment to the government. We have recommended a lot of names but difficult to give a number," Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya said at an event here.

"We are continuously working on it. We are preparing a second list on disinvestment," he added.

In June, the think tank had submitted to the government the roadmap for closure and strategic sale of government stake in some PSUs.

It had submitted two separate lists of sick and loss-making PSUs — one comprising those that can be closed down and the other of those where government can divest its stake.

Strategic sale means that the government will bring down its stake to 49 per cent or below in such PSUs.

Government has set a disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore for this fiscal. Of this, Rs 36,000 crore is to come from minority stake sale in PSUs and Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale.

Government kick-started the disinvestment programme for the current fiscal with 11.36 per cent stake sale in NHPC. The government raised Rs 2,700 crore through the process.

It has lined up as many as 15 PSUs, including Coal India, NMDC, MOIL, MMTC, National Fertilisers, NALCO and Bharat Electronics, for stake sale in current fiscal.

Recently, Heavy Industries Minister Anant Geete said the ministry will seek an in-principle approval from Cabinet for disinvesting government's stake in loss making automaker Scooters India.

During 2015-16, the government managed to notch up Rs 25,312 crore through disinvestment, less than half 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.