Cabinet to take up

Department of disinvestment sources said that the limit has been raised because nobody had shown any interest in buying the company. With an offer of 74 per cent equity, the Government expects to find some buyer.

The DoD sought the deferment of partial sale of Indian Oil Corporation, and the CCD cleared the deferment. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas had proposed the sale of 10 per cent government equity in IOC, but the DoD opposed it saying that partial offloading of equity does not fetch a good price.

The DoD is of the opinion that no disinvestment in IOC should be carried without a road map for the future, said DoD sources. The ministry of petroleum and natural gas has informed the CCD that it is working on a restructuring plan for the oil giant.

The the privatisation plans for Rashtriya Chemicals amp; Fertilisers Ltd RCF and Fertilisers and Chemicals Travancore Ltd FACT have also be put on hold. It was felt that since the disinvestment of National Fertilisers Ltd and Madras Fertilisers Ltd are underway, the sale of two more fertiliser companies would negatively impact the market and the government would not get a good price.