NITI Aayog pitches for strategic sale of 44 Central PSUs

Strategic sale of PSUs are to to divest centre's stake in profit making, loss making and sick units

NITI Aayog has made a case for strategic sale in as many as 44 public sector undertakings where the government can reduce its holding below 50 per cent by selling its stake.

NITI Aayog's recommendation of strategic sale of these PSUs is part of the task entrusted to it by the government to suggest ways to divest Centre's stake in profit-making as well as loss making and sick units.

"NITI Aayog has already recommended about 44 companies for strategic sale and that is going through a process. Dipam (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) is working on that, taking it forward.

"But for us, it's an ongoing process, so we are looking at the second lot, the third lot and we will come out with recommendations," NITI Aayog CEO Amitabh Kant told reporters here.

Under the strategic sale, government's stake is reduced to 0-49 per cent in a PSU which is also called privatisation.

Kant said the recommendations are based on "a very detailed analysis and inputs that it took".

He also said the NITI Aayog has already given a separate report on loss-making companies.

There as 76 such companies which can be revived and some of those need to be closed, while others need strategic sale.

Government aims to collect Rs 56,500 crore through disinvestment in PSUs this fiscal, as per the Union Budget for 2016-17.

Of the total budgeted proceeds, Rs 36,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs and the remaining Rs 20,500 crore from strategic sale in both profit and loss-making companies.

In 2015-16, the government was able to meet less than half of the disinvestment estimates at Rs 25,312 crore against 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.