The Cabinet has postponedthe decision on disinvestment in PSUs through share buybacks and other means.Several administrative ministries sought more discussions, and the companieshad no cash to spare for buybacks. Within a couple of hours of thedeferment, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee convened a meeting of top ministryofficials, Finance Secretary R S Gujral, Economic Affairs Secretary R Gopalanand Disinvestment Secretary Mohammed Haleem Khan. Planning Commission DeputyChairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia also attended. The urgency of pushing thedisinvestment plan, involving options such as bulk sales and buybacks, wasevident in the hurriedly called meeting.
The power ministry had argued nearly a monthago that all state-run companies had big expansion plans to address the massivepower shortage, and won’t be able to spare cash for share buybacks. They aretargeting a capacity addition of almost 100,000 Mw during the 12th Five-YearPlan (2012-17). This would need huge investments. Others who expressedapprehensions over the plan were the ministry of petroleum and natural gas, andthe ministry of coal.
Since the Cabinet had considered thedisinvestment plan with new options, it was likely to be brought back soon withchanges, if any, after consultations. According to estimates, the combined cashsurplus with all these state-run firms is around Rs 50,000 crore, more than thecurrent year’s Budgeted disinvestment target of Rs 40,000 crore. The governmentis struggling to meet that, having raised just Rs 1,145 crore so far.
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