MMTC, Hudco in line for next round of Modi government's disinvestment plan

NEW DELHI:  Despite the second wave dragging down the pace of the government’s aggressive divestment plan, the Centre will divest its stake in Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation Ltd (MMTC) and Hudco for the next round of divestment.

“There is some disruption in the process, but the divestment plan is on track. The next in line is the initiation of the divestment process of MMTC and Hudco. We expect to complete the process by next fiscal year,”  a senior official from the finance ministry told TNIE.

Officials said that for MMTC, the Expression of Interest will be invited by the second half, depending on the pace of recovery. 

The government plans to offload 49.78 per cent equity shareholding in MMTC. For the HUDCO, the government may take the Offer for Sale route.

The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had already given in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment in Minerals & Metals Trading Corporation Ltd (MMTC), along with National Mineral Development Corporation (NMDC) and Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd (BHEL) in January 2020.

However, the Covid-led lockdowns stalled the whole divestment process and eventually the government missed its target of achieving Rs 2.1 lakh crore and it failed to hit even the revised target of Rs 32,000 crore.

This year also,  Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced a divestment target of Rs 1.75 lakh crore during the Union Budget.

While the initial process started aggressively, the second wave has again put a pause in the works. There is already a delay in privatisation of PSUs like Air India, BPCL and Shipping Corporation, the divestment process of which has already started.

Even when the government has reiterated its resolve to conclude the process by this fiscal year itself, they admitted that the  process is likely to get back on track from September onwards.