PSEs to divest assets for investing in new projects

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The government would encourage the central public sector enterprises (CPSEs) to divest individual assets like land and manufacturing units to release their asset value for investing in new projects, said Finance Minister Arun Jaitley here on Monday.

"We will encourage CPSEs to divest individual assets like land, manufacturing units to release their asset value for making investment in new projects," Jaitley said in the Lok Saba, presenting the Union Budget for fiscal 2016-17.

Asserting that assets of the enterprises have to be leveraged for generating resources for investment in new projects, Jaitely told lawmakers that a new policy for management of government investments and strategic sale has been approved.

The National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog will identify the enterprises for strategic sale.

The Ayog was set up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2015 as the country's new policy think-tank in place of the erstwhile Planning Commission.

Declaring that the disinvestment department would be renamed the department of investment and public asset management (Dipam), the minister said a new approach would be adopted for efficient management of investments in the PSEs.

"We will also address issues such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares, etc.," Jaitley affirmed in his 100-minute long speech in English while seated.