Govt to release PSU divestment white paper soon

The government will come out with a comprehensive white paper (status report) on disinvestment in public sector undertakings (PSUs) during the monsoon session of the Parliament, minister of state for finance S S Palanimanickam said today.

"The focus of the disinvesment policy has changed from the earlier one, emphasising strategic sale, to a broad-based strategy encompassing the disinvestment of minority shareholding in profitable PSUs while retaining at least 51% shareholding and full management control with the government," he said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha today.

The new policy also prescribes restructuring and modernisation of loss making but revivable PSUs, including the induction of a private investor and closure or sale of chronically sick PSUs after ensuring that the dues of the employees along with compensation are settled, the minister said.