20 years later Indias CPSE privatisation off to Maharaja start
New Delhi Jan 27 PTI After a hiatus of nearly two decades the governments programme to privatise state-owned firms restarted with the handing over of debt-laden national carrier Air India to the Tata Group With the new owner shelling out Rs 18000 crore for the buyout of the Maharaja this would be the highest-ever amount garnered through privatisation and is even more than the cumulative sum mopped up through strategic sales from 1999-00 to 2003-04 The government had in October last year inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18000 crore Tatas would pay Rs 2700 crore cash and take over Rs 15300 crore of the airlines debt The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS The government had garnered roughly over Rs 5000 crore during that five-year period by privatising 10 CPSEs Besides three hotel properties of Hotel Corporation of India and 18 of ITDC were also sold off by way of slump sale Here is a timeline of strategic sale of central public sector enterprises CPSEs to private entities between 1999-00 to 2003-04 1999-00 – Modern Food Industries Ltd — Rs 105 crore 2000-01 – BALCO Lagan Jute Machinery Co Ltd — Rs 554 crore 2001-02 – VSNL Computer Maintenance Corporation CMC Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd HTL Paradeep Phosphate Ltd PPL some hotel properties of HCI and ITDC — Rs 2089 crore 2002-03 – Hindustan Zinc Ltd HZL Indian Petrochemicals Corporation IPCL some ITDC hotel properties — Rs 2335 crore 2003-04 – HZL second tranche Jessop Co — Rs 342 crore The government has also sold its majority stake in certain CPSEs to public sector companies operating in the same sector This includes sale of 74 per cent government stake in Indo Burma Petroleum Co IBP to Indian Oil Corp IOC in 2001-02 for Rs 1153 crore and Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC buying out government stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd HPCL for Rs 36915 crore in 2018 Besides governments 5263 per cent stake in REC was sold to Power Finance Corp for Rs 14500 crore in 2018-19 Between 2000-01 and 2019-20 the government has sold its entire stake in nine CPSEs to other similarly placed public sector enterprises garnering a cumulative Rs 53450 crore The privatisation process witnessed stagnation post 2004 as the focus shifted to selling minority stake in CPSEs through follow on public offer FPO and offer for sale OFS and also stock exchange listing of profitable CPSEs In the 2021-22 Budget the government announced the PSE public sector enterprises privatisation policy as per which all PSUs will be privatised barring those in four strategic sectors of atomic energy space and defence transport and telecommunications power petroleum coal and other minerals and banking insurance and financial services Even in these strategic sectors the government will retain only a bare minimum number of PSUs In her Budget speech Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said strategic disinvestment of BPCL Air India Shipping Corporation of India Container Corporation of India IDBI Bank BEML Pawan Hans Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd among others and IPO of LIC would be completed in 2021-22 Besides two public sector banks and one general insurance company would be privatised as per the privatisation agenda The Budget for 2021-22 has set a disinvestment target of Rs 175 lakh crore compared to around Rs 32835 crore estimated to be garnered in the last fiscal Of the Rs 175 lakh crore Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions while Rs 75000 crore will be CPSE disinvestment receipts So far Rs 9330 crore has been raised through sale of minority stake in Axis Bank NMDC Ltd Housing and Urban Development Corp HUDCO and Hindustan Copper Additionally Rs 2700 crore will come from the Air India sale PTI JD ANZ ANZ ABM ABM
New Delhi Jan 27 PTI After a hiatus of nearly two decades the governments programme to privatise state-owned firms restarted with the handing over of debt-laden national carrier Air India to the Tata Group With the new owner shelling out Rs 18000 crore for the buyout of the Maharaja this would be the highest-ever amount garnered through privatisation and is even more than the cumulative sum mopped up through strategic sales from 1999-00 to 2003-04 The government had in October last year inked the share purchase agreement with the Tata Group for sale of national carrier Air India for Rs 18000 crore Tatas would pay Rs 2700 crore cash and take over Rs 15300 crore of the airlines debt The deal also includes sale of Air India Express and ground handling arm AISATS The government had garnered roughly over Rs 5000 crore during that five-year period by privatising 10 CPSEs Besides three hotel properties of Hotel Corporation of India and 18 of ITDC were also sold off by way of slump sale Here is a timeline of strategic sale of central public sector enterprises CPSEs to private entities between 1999-00 to 2003-04 1999-00 – Modern Food Industries Ltd — Rs 105 crore 2000-01 – BALCO Lagan Jute Machinery Co Ltd — Rs 554 crore 2001-02 – VSNL Computer Maintenance Corporation CMC Hindustan Teleprinters Ltd HTL Paradeep Phosphate Ltd PPL some hotel properties of HCI and ITDC — Rs 2089 crore 2002-03 – Hindustan Zinc Ltd HZL Indian Petrochemicals Corporation IPCL some ITDC hotel properties — Rs 2335 crore 2003-04 – HZL second tranche Jessop Co — Rs 342 crore The government has also sold its majority stake in certain CPSEs to public sector companies operating in the same sector This includes sale of 74 per cent government stake in Indo Burma Petroleum Co IBP to Indian Oil Corp IOC in 2001-02 for Rs 1153 crore and Oil and Natural Gas Corp ONGC buying out government stake in Hindustan Petroleum Corp Ltd HPCL for Rs 36915 crore in 2018 Besides governments 5263 per cent stake in REC was sold to Power Finance Corp for Rs 14500 crore in 2018-19 Between 2000-01 and 2019-20 the government has sold its entire stake in nine CPSEs to other similarly placed public sector enterprises garnering a cumulative Rs 53450 crore The privatisation process witnessed stagnation post 2004 as the focus shifted to selling minority stake in CPSEs through follow on public offer FPO and offer for sale OFS and also stock exchange listing of profitable CPSEs In the 2021-22 Budget the government announced the PSE public sector enterprises privatisation policy as per which all PSUs will be privatised barring those in four strategic sectors of atomic energy space and defence transport and telecommunications power petroleum coal and other minerals and banking insurance and financial services Even in these strategic sectors the government will retain only a bare minimum number of PSUs In her Budget speech Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman had said strategic disinvestment of BPCL Air India Shipping Corporation of India Container Corporation of India IDBI Bank BEML Pawan Hans Neelachal Ispat Nigam Ltd among others and IPO of LIC would be completed in 2021-22 Besides two public sector banks and one general insurance company would be privatised as per the privatisation agenda The Budget for 2021-22 has set a disinvestment target of Rs 175 lakh crore compared to around Rs 32835 crore estimated to be garnered in the last fiscal Of the Rs 175 lakh crore Rs 1 lakh crore is to come from selling government stake in public sector banks and financial institutions while Rs 75000 crore will be CPSE disinvestment receipts So far Rs 9330 crore has been raised through sale of minority stake in Axis Bank NMDC Ltd Housing and Urban Development Corp HUDCO and Hindustan Copper Additionally Rs 2700 crore will come from the Air India sale PTI JD ANZ ANZ ABM ABM
