Trying to meet the disinvestment target set by the government, the Department of Disinvestment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and Niti Aayog are looking at the scope of putting various public sector enterprises (PSUs) on the block.
"The government is looking at potential strategic stake sales in the non-priority sector. The government has asked Niti Aayog to identify companies which can be privatised," said Dheeraj Bhatnagar, Additional Secretary, DIPAM.
Bhatnagar reiterated the government's stance on ensuring that the value of PSUs don't see any value erosion. "We are not going to divest at distressed valuations at any cost," he said.
On the listing plans, he said that 11 PSUs have been identified.
According to sources, the proposal to divest stake in Air India is in the works and is expected to be concluded this year.
For 2019-2020, the government is planning to raise Rs 1.05 trillion through its disinvestment drive.
Sources said that the government is also looking at selling its minority stakes in companies such as Hindustan Zinc and Vedanta. Besides this, it is also looking at SUUTI stake sales in private companies.
The government’s disinvestment plans could also involve the huge land parcels or non-core asset that PSUs have been holding on their books.
"These non-core assets can be possibly hived off into separate entities," Bhatnagar said.
According to sources, in certain cases, monetising of land parcels can get challenging if there is no clarity on the land titles.
"Some of these land parcels are quite old and clarity on land title may become an issue," said a source close to the ministry.
Sources say strategic sales in mining companies can be more long-drawn as it would also involve state governments that have certain ownership over the mining regions.
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