Government’s think tanks NITI Aayog, which recently submitted first list of Public Sector Undertaking (PSUs) for closure or sell off to the government is now preparing a second list on PSUs disinvestment. Niti Aayog Vice Chairman Arvind Panagariya has said that they are preparing a second list on disinvestment and have recommended a lot of names.
Government kick-started the disinvestment programme for the current fiscal with 11.36 per cent stake sale in National Hydroelectric Power Corporation (NHPC) and raised Rs 2,700 crore through the process. Niti Aayog has lined up as many as 15 PSUs, including Coal India, NMDC, MOIL, MMTC, National Fertilisers, NALCO and Bharat Electronics, for stake sale in current fiscal.
In the first list prepared by NITI Aayog, there were two separate lists of sick and loss-making PSUs- one comprising those that can be closed down and the other of those where government can divest its stake. The government aims to collect Rs. 56,500 crore through disinvestment in PSUs this fiscal. Of this 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.