Cabinet Panel Approves Listing Of Five State-Run Railway Companies
The government will sell up to 25% stake in each of these 11 PSUs.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) approved the listing of 11 central public sector enterprises (CPSEs), including five state-run railway subsidiaries, and three under the ministry of defence, by divesting up to 25 percent government stake.
The list of railway subsidiaries includes Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC), Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd, IRCON International Ltd., Indian Railway Finance Corp. Ltd., and RITES Ltd., the Press Information Bureau (PIB) said in a statement on Wednesday.
Finance Minister Arun Jaitley in his Union Budget 2017-18 speech in February had announced the government’s intention to list railway PSUs.
The other units cleared for listing include three under the defence ministry – Bharat Dynamics Ltd., Garden Reach Shipbuilders and Engineers Ltd. and Mazagon Dock Shipbuilders Ltd. – two under the steel ministry – MSTC Ltd. and Mishra Dhatu Nigam Ltd. – and North Eastern Electric Power Corporation Ltd under the power ministry.
The stake sale is part of the government's disinvestment plans under which it aims to raise around Rs 72,500 crore in the current fiscal by diluting shareholding in profit making PSUs. The government had mopped up nearly Rs 46,200 crore this year through disinvestment, slightly higher than its scaled down target.
The exact disinvestment for each company, and the mode of raising funds will be decided by the Alternative Mechanism, a select group of ministers headed by Jaitley to decide on the modalities of stake sales in public sector units.
Retail investors, and some eligible employees, will get a price discount of up to 5 percent on the issue price of these companies. This is to ensure "wider participation by small investors" in the disinvestment program, the statement said.