After ONGC, its Oil India's turn for divestment: Sources

While the 5% stake sale of ONGC via auction route is in progress today, Oil India too will follow trend. However, there is no word from the department of divestment as of now.

Sources in the know say there could be a 10% divestment, if done via auction route for Oil India which can fetch upto Rs 3,000 crore to the government.

Divestment of PSUs is important for the government to help it control the budget deficit, which is widely expected to overshoot the targeted 4.6% of gross domestic product this fiscal year through March by as much as one percentage point.

The government aims to narrow the deficit to 3.5% by March 2014, but heavy subsidies to artificially lower food, fertilizer and fuel prices and shield the poor from inflation have cast doubts over the government's ability to stick to its fiscal consolidation plan.

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