Core Group Refers 40 Psus To Divestment Panel

Disinvestment Commission chairman G V Ramakrishna confirmed the referral and stated that he would put up the proposal to the other members of the commission for decision at its next meeting scheduled for October 10.

The cleared list includes several leading PSUs such as Air-India, Steel Authority of India (SAIL), Gas Authority of India (GAIL), Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), but excludes those under the administrative jurisdiction of the industry ministry.

The commission had included several PSUs like Hindustan Engineering Corporation (HEC), Hindustan Machine Tools (HMT) and Braithwaite & Company, but the core group has decided against referring these to the commission.

 

The differences between the commission and the industry ministry on the former's brief are well-known and industry minister Murasoli Maran has maintained that the restructuring of the PSUs under the department of industrial development would remain with his ministry.

The list of 40 PSUs referred by the core group include those already cleared by the United Front government's steering committee like the Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC) and Shipping Corporation of India (SCI). Other prominent PSUs include PowerGrid Corporation (PGC) and Hindustan Zinc (HZL).

The hotel sector -- where the United Front government had initially proposed total withdrawal but had subsequently scaled it down to 74 per cent -- also figures high on this list. These PSUs are ITDC and Hotel Corporation of India (HCI). In the telecom sector -- the hottest scrips internationally -- Indian Telephone Industries (ITI) and MTNL top the cleared list.

The commission had decided on a list of 108 PSUs, following its initial meeting with finance minister PChidambaram some time ago. The minister had reassured the members that they were free to select any of the PSUs for consideration. The commission had accordingly selected 108 of the 250 PSUs and had forwarded this list to the government for clearance.

The decision to refer the 40 PSUs to the commission comes within 24 hours of the cabinet's announcement to divest 7 per cent government stake in VSNL and 5 per cent in IOC and within a week of a scathing attack by Ramakrishna on the core group for its "lackadaisical" attitude in not referring a single PSU to the commission.