A day after the Cabinet approved a new mechanism for divestments of central public sector utilities (PSUs), CNBC-TV18 reported that Finance Minister Arun Jaitley will be heading most of the panels related to these divestments.
The panel set up for the divestment of Pawan Hans, will be headed by Arun Jaitley and will include Minister for Road Transport and Highways and Shipping Nitin Gadkari and Civil Aviation Minister Ashok Gajapathi Raju.
According to the report, issues related with Pawan Hans' divestment will be taken up with the group of Secretaries in the central government.
The government is also looking at setting up a separate company to sell the profitable assets of the helicopter service. The first meeting of the divestment panel is expected to happen at the end of August.
The government wants to sell its entire 51 percent stake in Pawan Hans. The remaining 49 percent is owned by Oil and Natural Gas Corporation (ONGC).
In October 2016, the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) had given its in-principle approval for strategic disinvestment of profit-making Pawan Hans.
Set up in 1985, Pawan Hans has a fleet of over 40 helicopters and nearly 900 employees, 450 of whom are on permanent rolls.
Discover the latest Business News, Sensex, and Nifty updates. Obtain Personal Finance insights, tax queries, and expert opinions on Moneycontrol or download the Moneycontrol App to stay updated!
