Policy for strategic sale in place; PSUs to sell idle assets

With the disinvestment target set to be missed for the 16th time in 25 years, government today proposed to revive strategic sale of PSUs as well as monetise idle assets.
The Department of Disinvestment, which was carved out of the Finance Ministry in 1999, has been renamed the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) to give impetus to the programme.
Against a target of Rs 41,000 crore from sale of minority stakes in central public sector units, the proceeds will total only Rs 25,312.60 crore in the current fiscal. The target for Rs 28,500 crore from strategic sale will draw a blank.

For next fiscal, the minority stake sale target has been kept at Rs 36,000 crore while another Rs 20,500 crore is being targeted from strategic stake sale. The total target from disinvestment stands at Rs 56,500 crore.
With no strategic stake sale policy being in place, the government could not in the current fiscal privatise any PSU. But now a Core Group of Secretaries on Disinvestment or CGD on strategic sale has been set up.
In his Budget speech, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said: "We will encourage CPSEs to divest individual assets like land, manufacturing unit to release their asset value for making investments in new projects.

"We will adopt a comprehensive approach for efficient management of the government investment in CPSEs by addressing issued such as capital restructuring, dividend, bonus shares."

The CGD will be headed by Cabinet Secretary and also include secretaries to department of revenue, economic affairs, expenditure, disinvestment, public enterprises, corporate affairs and legal affairs besides those of administrative ministries concerned with the PSU.
The CGD would "consider the recommendations of Niti Aayog on strategic disinvestment of CPSE and recommend to CCEA for a decision on mode and quantum of disinvestment."
It would also lay down guidelines for evaluation by Evaluation Committee as well as recommend the terms and conditions of sale including transaction document, the price of sale and the strategic partner. It would also supervise and monitor the process of implementation of CCEA decisions on strategic disinvestment.

Appointment of intermediaries such as merchant bankers and legal advisors for the disinvestment would be done by an inter-ministerial group with Disinvestment Secretary as its head.
Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Gupta said the government will adopt a comprehensive investment management strategy, not limited merely to disinvestments in equity to augment resources.
"Change in the name of the department clearly underlines the new approach of the government. It is committed to efficient management and leveraging its investment in the CPSEs for expansion of economic activities as well as attracting fresh investments," Disinvestment Secretary Neeraj Gupta told PTI.