In a bid to achieve a full-year disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore, Modi government has prepared a plan for disposal of controlling stakes in 22 listed and unlisted companies.
According to a report in The Economic Times,large state-run companies such as Container Corporation of India, Bharat Earthmovers, as many as three plants of the Steel Authority of India and unlisted entities like Cement Corporation of India are on the list.
In the list are companies that are profitable and some that aren’t but have big asset bases. The key criterion is that none of them are engaged in areas that are strategically critical for India, the report further states.
Of the FY17 disinvestment target of Rs 56,500 crore, the government has so far got Rs 22,000 crore through various modes including buybacks.
A Cabinet note has been floated by the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (Dipam) to this end, two officials aware of the development told ET.
In the case of unlisted ones, the government will exit completely, offering 100% equity. In the case of listed ones, the government will lower its holding to less than 49% to free them from state control.
The government 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.
