PSU strategic sale road map in 2 months

will submit a detailed plan in the next two months on the divestment of government’s stakes in some public sector undertakings (PSUs) and strategic sale of those units that have been sick for a long time.

"The NITI Aayog will submit its detailed plan on strategic sales of government's stake in sick as well as profit-making PSUs within couple of months' time," a source said.

The Aayog has almost completed the task of preparing the list of PSUs that have been sick for a long time and cannot be revived and it will recommend closure and selling off those units accordingly, a source said.
 

The source added, “The work on preparing another list will start soon. These will be profit-making PSUs where government can sell its stake to maximise proceeds from such divestments.”

Initiating the work on strategic sale of PSUs, the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and NITI Aayog started discussions in March to identify state-run firms where the government can divest its stake.

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley had said in his Budget 2016-17 speech that NITI Aayog will identify PSUs for strategic sale.

Jaitley had said, "A new policy for management of government investment in Public Sector Enterprises, including disinvestment and strategic sale, has been approved. We have to leverage the assets of CPSEs for generation of resources for investment in new projects."

"We will encourage CPSEs to divest individual assets like land, manufacturing units, etc to release their asset value for making investment in new projects. The NITI Aayog will identify the CPSEs for strategic sale," he had said.

Jaitley further said the government will adopt a comprehensive approach for efficient management of investment in CPSEs by addressing issues such as capital restructuring, dividend and bonus shares.

The Department of Disinvestment has been re-named DIPAM.

The government aims to collect Rs 56,500 crore through disinvestment in PSUs this fiscal, as per the 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.

During 2015-16, the government could manage to meet less than half the Budget estimates at Rs 25,312 crore as 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. It had raised around Rs 14,000 crore in 2011-12 and over Rs 22,100 crore in 2010-11. EoM