Coal India disinvestment to be taken by Cabinet this week

The proposal for 10% disinvestment last financial year had to be deferred after stiff opposition from the trade unions

The government is likely to soon approve disinvestment of Coal India Ltd this week which may fetch the exchequer Rs 22,000 crore.

The proposal for 10% disinvestment of Coal India Ltd would be taken up by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) this week, sources said.

A planned stake sale in Coal India (CIL) in the last financial year had to be deferred after stiff opposition from the trade unions. The coal major had to make up for that by paying about Rs 19,000 crore as dividend to the exchequer.

The government, which holds a 89.65% stake in CIL, initially sought to divest a 10% stake but lowered it to 5% on account of opposition from the unions.

At Thursday's closing share price of Rs 356.40, a sale of 10% stake or 63.16 crore shares in CIL would fetch the government more than Rs 22,428 crore.

This will make up for more than half of the total disinvestment target of the current fiscal.

In the Budget, the government has estimated to collect Rs 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs and another Rs 15,000 crore from sale of residual stake in the erstwhile government companies.

Of the disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore in 2013-14, the government had mobilised Rs 15,820 crore. In 2012-13, of the Rs 30,000 crore target, Rs 23,957 crore was raised. In 2011-12, only Rs 13,894 crore was raised of the Rs 40,000 crore target.