The government is planning to sell its remaining stake in railway wagon manufacturer Jessop and Company to meet the target of raising Rs 5,000-7,000 crore through disinvestment in 2005-06."A proposal has been mooted to sell the remaining 27% stake held by the government in the company," sources said, and added that the proposal is being examined by the finance ministry.The government holds its equity in Jessop through Bharat Bahri Udyog.After much legal wrangling, the government had sold 72% shares in Jessop to Ruia Cotex in 2003 after the company was declared sick by BIFR.Ruias had paid Rs 18.18 crore for the 72% stake, and had managed to cut down losses and post a net profit in the last quarter of 2003-04.The sale of the residual stake in Jessop brings the list of companies in which government wants to sell its stake to seven. Others already on the table are Maruti Udyog, Balco, BHEL, OIL and Power Grid.While the government plans to offload 7.5% stake in Maruti, it is planning to divest its entire 49% stake in Balco. In BHEL, the government wants to sell 10% shares.Initial public offers of OIL India and Power Grid Corporation are also being explored for the next fiscal, the officials said.The entire disinvestment proceeds after April 1, 2005 will go to the National Investment Fund (NIF), which will be managed by public sector fund managers.The dividend from the NIF would be spent for funding social schemes and restructuring PSUs.
