The disinvestment department said it is gearing up to raise Rs 40,000 crore from the divestment process during 2010-11 and expressed the hope that the target set by the Finance Minister will be met.
“Those Rs 40,000 crore are estimates and we will certainly meet them,” disinvestment secretary Sumit Bose told reporters when asked whether the government will be able to mop up the amount as proposed by the finance minister in budget 2011.
Presenting budget 2011, finance minister Pranab Mukherjee upped the revenue target from sale of government equity in CPSUs to Rs 40,000 crore in 2010-11 from the targeted Rs 25,000 crore for the current fiscal.
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Bose said the department is reviewing the situation and divestment proposals will be taken on a case-by-case basis.
“Can we have a roadmap for the entire year? No. And why should the government comment about something 12 months ahead?,” he said when asked about the disinvestment roadmap for the next fiscal.
This fiscal, disinvestment has been made in Oil India, NHPC in the middle of last year, and NTPC and Rural Electrification Corporation in February, while NMDC follow-on issue is opening tomorrow.
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Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam, earlier scheduled for the current fiscal, will now hit the street in the next fiscal.
Besides, the Cabinet has given its nod for further stake sale in Engineers India.
As per the Cabinet decision, all listed profitable PSUs should have a public holding of at least 10 per cent and all profitable unlisted CPSUs should be listed over the next few years. And according to this criteria, as many as 60 state-run companies are eligible for disinvestment.
Earlier, revenue secretary Sunil Mitra, who was the past disinvestment secretary, had said the department expected some of the big CPSUs like Coal India, BSNL and SAIL to be divested in the next fiscal.