INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
With NITI Aayog sharing the latest selloff list with the finance ministry, close to 50 companies have now been recommended for disinvestment
proposals were being studied and a final decision will be taken by the Cabinet committee on economic affairs, but defended the movement on
strategic sale so far, arguing that the government was on course to complete some of the transactions, including Air India, where 76 per
cent equity is being offered for sale compared to the recommendation of 100 per cent.
Sources said NITI Aayog has recommended leasing out
While the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government had sought to sell Ashok Hotel, the plan was resisted by the tourism ministry, apart from other
problems.
Even during the Narendra Modi regime, the sale of ITDC hotels has not taken off as the government has opted to play safe
Last year, then tourism minister Mahesh Sharma had said the property was not on the disinvestment list, along with Samrat Hotel, as they
disinvestment plan, NITI Aayog has listed BHEL as one of the candidates, citing erosion in its market value over the last few years compared
cap was estimated at Rs 27,535 crore, compared to nearly Rs 1.2 lakh crore for LT
has suggested that the government should reduce its stake in BHEL from 63 per cent to 49 per cent by offloading shares in the market, before
A similar proposal made earlier had been trashed by the finance ministry.
Sources said the panel, headed by economist Rajiv Kumar, has also
recommended that the government should begin selling assets in MTNL, once a top state-run company, which is now the third-biggest loss-maker
behind BSNL and Air India
An outright stake sale has not been proposed, given the large real estate holdings
NITI Aayog recommending that government could exit most of these PSUs
While some of the companies, such as NTC, reported impressive profit in 2016-17, it was on the back of exceptional items or one-time gains.
