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Journalism of Courage
Despite of missing the disinvestment target in a major way during the fiscal 2002-03, the government has enhanced the target receipt from disinvestment to Rs 13,200 crore during the next financial year 2003-04 in a confidence that pace of PSU sell off would be accelerated.
In his budget speech, the finance minister Jaswant Singh said that “disinvestment receipts, at Rs 3360 crore are lower than the budget estimate of Rs 12,000 crore in the fiscal 2002-03.”
But this has not deterred the government to peg the target by 10 per cent to Rs 13,200 crore for the next year. Singh exuded hope by saying “I am confident that the pace of disinvestment will accelerate in the coming year”. The privatisation of oil marketing PSUs HPCL and BPCL along with Nalco is likely to form the basis of this high expectation.
“I wish to also state that details about the already announced Disinvestment Fund and Asset Management Company, to hold residual shares post disinvestment shall be finalised early in 2003-04,” Singh added.
