Mankad keeps mum

MUMBAI, NOV 15: The Finance Ministry has virtually no answers for the cheap sale8217; of Gas Authority of India Ltd GAIL shares. Union finance secretary Piyush Mankad today refused to speak on the ongoing controversy over the faulty pricing of the GAIL shares.

Speaking to newspersons soon after attending a session of the US Investment Summit, Mankad said 8220;the Government of India does not have any comments to offer.8221; The GDRs were sold at a discounted price of Rs 70 while the previous government had withdrawn the issue despite getting a higher price of Rs 120 citing low pricing.

Earlier, speaking at the summit, Mankad said the government will speed up the disinvestment process in the public sector units to reduce its deficit.