Govt open to divest over 51% in PSUs: Rajiv Mehrishi
Finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi says govt aims to collect Rs28,500 crore next fiscal
New Delhi: The government is open to selling more than 51% in certain public sector entities as part of its ‘strategic sale’ through which it aims to collect 28,500 crore next fiscal, a top finance ministry official said on Monday.
“Strategic sale means that you are looking for a strategic partner, not selling to retail investor," finance secretary Rajiv Mehrishi told reporters in New Delhi. Asked if strategic will only mean below 51%, Mehrishi said: “Not necessary".
For the full fiscal 2015-16, the government hopes to garner 69,500 crore through stake sale in public sector undertakings (PSUs). Of this, 41,000 crore is estimated to come from minority stake sale in PSUs and the remaining 28,500 crore from strategic stake sale. Mehrishi said the finance ministry would “go ahead" with the stake sales depending on need as well as the appetite in stock markets. As per the medium term fiscal policy statement of the government, the budgeted 28,500 crore is expected to come from sale of government holdings in non-government commercial entities—the Specified Undertaking of Unit Trust of India (SUUTI), Bharat Aluminium Co. (BALCO) and Hindustan Zinc Ltd.
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