SJVNL public offer unlikely this fiscal: Shinde

Power Minister Sushilkumar Shinde today said the government may put off divestment in power generation company Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam (SJVNL) to the next fiscal.

"SJVNL initial public offer is unlikely by this fiscal end," Shinde told reporters on the sidelines of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations of PTI here today.

He, however, declined to give any reason for the delay of the divestment plan, which would have fetched the government Rs 1,200 crore.

Earlier, the government had planned to launch an IPO of SJVNL towards the end of this fiscal.

The statement of Shinde came on a day when NTPC hit the capital markets with its follow-on public offer today.

The government is divesting 5 per cent of its stake in NTPC, after which its share in the company would come down to 84.5 per cent. The government plans to mop up over Rs 8,500 crore through the NTPC offer.

On the heels of NTPC offer, the Government is likely to go ahead with its divestment plans in PSUs like REC and NMDC.

The Centre is planning to offload 10 per cent stake through an IPO in SJVNL this fiscal and is hoping to raise Rs 1,200 crore.

SJVNL is a joint venture between the Centre and Himachal Pradesh in the ratio of 75:25.