New Delhi: With a clear intent to make the PSU sector lean and thin, the Centre is working to complete the disinvestment of 23 PSUs, said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. While speaking to Hero Enterprise Chairman Sunil Kant Munjal, the minister said that as part of the Aatmanirbhar Bharat initiative, the government had announced opening up of all sectors for private participation. "The final call as to which are the sectors which are going to be called 'strategic' is not made yet, that has to be announced and I can't preempt what announcement is likely to come," she said.
"But in those sectors which we are going to be called strategic, the private will obviously be allowed to come in but the public sectors will be limited to a maximum of four units," said Sitharaman.
The Finance Minister said that the consolidation of PSUs, as well as scaling up of their operations, is in the offing. She added that the Centre wants to sell stake in PSUs at a time when it fetches the right price.
She said this would lead to consolidation of public sector undertakings (PSUs) as well as scaling up of their operations. "There are already nearly 22-23 such PSUs which have been cleared by the Cabinet for disinvestment. The intent is clear that at least for those which had already been cleared by the Cabinet, we will have to disinvest," Sitharaman said.
The statement made by the Finance Minister comes as the government has set for itself a target of raising Rs 2.10 lakh crore through disinvestment. The DIPAM (Department of Investment and Public Asset Management) has already set the ball rolling on the disinvestment process for BPCL, its subsidiary NRL, SCI, CONCOR, Air India, LIC, and a bunch of other minority stake sales. The sale THDC and NEEPCO to NTPC Limited has already been concluded in the previous financial year.
According to an official statement released by the Ministry of Finance on December 3, 2019, the Cabinet had given its "in-principle" approval for the following 23 PSUs:
1. Project & Development India Ltd.
2. Hindustan Prefab Ltd. (HPL)
3. Engineering Projects (India) Ltd
4. Bridge & Roof Co. India Ltd
5. Hindustan Newsprint Ltd. (Subsidiary)
6. Scooters India Ltd
7. Bharat Pumps and Compressors Ltd
8. Cement Corporation of India Ltd
9. Hindustan Fluorocarbon Ltd. (Subsidiary)
10. Central Electronics Ltd
11. Bharat Earth Movers Ltd (BEML)
12. Ferro Scrap Nigam Ltd (subsidiary)
13. Nagarnar Steel Plant of NMDC
14. Alloy Steel Plant, Durgapur; Salem Steel Plant; Bhadrwati units of SAIL
15. Pawan Hans Ltd
16. Air India and its five subsidiaries and one JV
17. HLL Lifecare
18. Indian Medicines & Pharmaceutical Corporation Ltd (IMPCL)
19. Kamarajar Port Limited (Disinvestment has been completed in March. Centre has sold its 74.49 percent stake to Chennai Port Trust for Rs 2,383 crore.)
20. Indian Tourism Development Corporation (ITDC)
21. Karnataka Antibiotics and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (Sources have told PSU Watch that KAPL may not be disinvested because the Centre wants to assign it the responsibility of being the sole manufacturer and distributor of Oxytocin in India, if the Supreme Court gives its approval.)
22. Hindustan Antibiotics Ltd.
23. Bengal Chemicals and Pharmaceuticals Ltd (BCPL)