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Govt must develop capacity for privatisation

The Union government on Wednesday decided to sell its residual stake in Hindustan Zinc. The government currently holds 29.5 per cent in the company and is expected to raise over Rs 38,000 crore by selling its stake. This would significantly help in attaining the current year’s disinvestment target of Rs 65,000 crore, though the decision to cancel the privatisation process of Bharat Petroleum Corporation is a big setback. The government should nonetheless aim to take the overall process forward. Higher disinvestment proceeds will help in pushing up capital expenditure, which is absolutely critical at this stage of economic recovery from