The government has mopped up Rs 12,030 crore from PSU disinvestment and strategic sale. This include Rs 2,700 crore from Air India privatisation and another Rs 9,330 crore through minority stake sale in various Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs).
The top court, however, allowed disinvestment of the Centre's residuary 29.5 per cent share in the open market.
The government on Wednesday said it has received multiple financial bids for buying national carrier Air India. Meanwhile, a Tata Sons spokesperson told PTI that it has put in a bid for the airline.
BJP leader and Rajya Sabha MP Subramanian Swamy has hit out at the Centre for allowing 100% disinvestment in Air India saying calling the move a wholly anti-national.
“The government must stop disinvestment, strategic sale, corporatisation and privatisation of public sector undertakings. The PSUs are the backbone of the Indian industrial structure and government must stop policy-driven privatisation of the same,” the RSS-affiliated union said
Air India unions have suggested the Centre to make the airline a board-managed company just like L&T and ITC.
The Union Cabinet on Wednesday approved strategic disinvestment in Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) along with transfer of management control, excluding stake in Numaligarh Refinery. The decision was announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman today.
Among the key issues holding Expression of Interest (EoI), first stage of bidding, is whether FDI norms have to be relaxed to allow foreign airlines to take full control of the airline and extending national carrier status after change in ownership
Addressing a trade unions' meet, the TMC supremo iterated that she will not allow NRC exercise in the state.
The Narendra Modi government has decided to go for strategic disinvestment of 23 Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs). The budget estimate for the move in 2019-20 has been set at Rs 1,05,000 crore.
"In an AISAM (Air India Specific Alternative Mechanism) meeting held on 28th March 2018, it was decided that due to issues like volatile crude oil prices and adverse fluctuations in exchange rates, the atmosphere was not conducive for the disinvestment. But this was last year," the ministry said in a statement.
A plan is also being worked out by the Air India board and the situation was reviewed after the proposed strategic stake sale of the national carrier failed to attract any bidders last month.
Civil aviation secretary RN Choubey says there is a great deal of interest for disinvestment of Air India as the deadline for submission of preliminary bids ends this month.
People are also being urged through WhatsApp messages to raise their voice against the strategic disinvestment of the national carrier, according to union representatives.
The chopper company is a 51:49 joint venture between the Civil Aviation Ministry and oil behemoth ONGC.
According to Jaitley, the government has approved the listing of 14 CPSEs (Central Public Sector Enterprises), including two insurance companies, on the stock exchanges.
Last year, the Union Cabinet gave its in-principle approval for disinvestment of Air India and constituted an inter-ministerial group for working on the strategy for the airline’s stake sale.
Kharola, who took over as chairman and managing director of the disinvestment-bound national carrier earlier this month, also said the onus to steer the company out of turbulence lies on everyone.
As part of the disinvestment excercise, 3 ITDC hotels will be handed over to Rajasthan, Karnataka, Arunachal governments.
The move comes months after Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said in his Budget speech proposed the creation of an oil major that would be able to match the performance of international and domestic private sector oil and gas companies
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