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Journalism of Courage
A day after finance minister Pranab Mukherjee promised a blueprint for disinvestment after discussions with stakeholders,the power,oil and steel ministries have begun walking the talk. The PSU sell-off programme will be launched with an initial public offering by National Hydroelectric Power Corporation NHPC in August,followed by Oil India Ltd OIL in September.
The steel ministry,meanwhile,has begun identifying potential candidates for stake sales from among a dozen or so PSUs in the next few months. Coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal has already said that disinvestment was necessary for all coal sector PSUs,including Coal India Ltd and Neyveli Lignite Ltd. At a conference on Wednesday steel minister Virbhadra Singh said,We are considering the sale of stakes in companies under the ministry. With the finance ministry hinting at beginning its disinvestment programme with follow-on public offerings by listed PSUs with a low public float,steel firms SAIL and National Mineral Development Corporation could be prime candidates.
Since taking a PSU to the market takes three to six months of administrative paperwork,the disinvestment department had requested markets regulator Sebi to give an extension to the draft red herring prospectus filed by NHPC and OIL. Power secretary HS Brahma said,NHPCs IPO will come in August; the company has already started roadshows. NHPC hopes to raise Rs 1,670 crore by selling 10 per cent of fresh equity capital. The government will divest 5 per cent of its stake.
