Dozen privatisation proposals may be considered in fiscal year 2021-22

NEW DELHI: The government's privatisation drive will see about a dozen profit-making entities being put up for disinvestment under the strategic route in FY22, two persons familial with the matter said. They said that NITI Aayog has been asked to finalise the first list of public sector enterprises to be put up for privatisation.

This list would focus on profit making entities operating in non-core areas that could help the government realise better valuations and good investor interest. "The idea is to bring better performing companies that have to be privatised first so that investor interest is generated in government's strategic sale programme. Water will be tested for loss-making and such entities later," said the person quoted earlier.

Accordingly, sources said that the first list of privatisation may include at least two public sector banks that have been brought out from the prompt corrective action (PCA) framework, one non-life insurer, Bhadrawati and Salem units of steel major SAIL, Central Electronics, Cement Corporation of India, Nagarnar Steel Plant of NMDC, Bharat Earth Movers.

But the first among the companies to be privatised may be the ones where the process was already initiated FY21. The cabinet has given the nod for some major strategic stake sales in companies including Air India, Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL), Shipping Corporation, Container Corporation, and IDBI Bank, sale process of some are already in advanced stage.

The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore from stake sale in public sector companies and financial institutions, including 2 PSU banks and one insurance company, in the next fiscal year.