Cabinet gives in-principle nod for strategic sale of Neelachal Ispat

The government on Wednesday in-principle approved strategic sale of Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd (NINL) by allowing six PSU shareholders to sell their stake in the steel company.

A decision in this regard was taken in the meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA), headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Information and Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar told reporters.

NINL is a joint venture company, in which four central PSUs -- MMTC, National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC), Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) and MECON -- and two Odisha government companies IPICOL and Odisha Mining Corporation (OMC) are shareholders.

MMTC holds 49.78 per cent share in NINL, followed by OMC (20.47 per cent), IPICOL (12 per cent), NMDC (10.10 per cent), while MECON and BHEL hold 0.68 per cent each.

The strategic buyer for NINL will be identified through a two-stage auction procedure, said an official statement.

"The proposed strategic disinvestment of NINL would unlock resources to be used to finance the social sector/ developmental programmes of the government benefiting the public," the statement added.

It is also expected that the successful strategic buyer may bring in new management/technology/investment for the growth of the company and may use innovative methods for the development of the business operations of the company, which may generate more employment opportunities, it said.