Profit-making CPSEs to give 20 dividend

For the current fiscal,the fiscal deficit has been projected at 5.9 per cent of the country8217;s Gross Domestic Product.

8220;As per extant guidelines,profit-making CPSEs are required to declare a minimum dividend of 20 per cent or a minimum pay-out of 20 per cent whichever is higher,8221; Patel said.

In case of PSUs operating in oil,petroleum,chemical and infrastructure sectors,the minimum divided pay-out should be 30 per cent of the post tax profits,he added.

In order to help the government meet its disinvestment target which helps in containing the fiscal deficit,the Department of Public Enterprises has asked listed state-owned companies to gear up for buyback of their shares.

The government is targeting Rs 30,000 crore from stake sales in public sector undertakings in 2012-13,even as it missed the target for the current fiscal by a wide margin.

It could manage to raise only Rs 14,000 crore in the current fiscal through stake sale in CPSEs,against the budgeted Rs 40,000 crore,due to various global and domestic factors.

Asked whether PSUs have been asked to increase their investment,Patel said,8221;17 Central Public Sector Enterprises have projected an investment of Rs 1.7 lakh crore during 2012-13 in domestic sector and in overseas assets.8221;

These investments are likely to have a positive impact on the financial performance of the CPSEs in the long-run,8221; he added.