Despite a slowdown on the divestment front with no major privatisation case coming through during the past one year, the government has extended the tenure of the divestment commission by another year.

We have received a communication from the government extending the life of the Commission till October 2004, member secretary Amitabha Bhattacharya said in New Delhi on Friday.

The move would not only enable the panel to wrap up work on existing cases under study but also allow it to take up work on review cases, he added.

Currently, the Commission is working on some 18-20 PSUs including telecom giants Bharat Sanchar Nigam and Mahanagar Telephone Nigam.

The Commission is also reviewing its recommendations on National Mineral Development Corporation and Concor.

It has also taken up work on promotional organizations like India Trade Promotion Organisation.

The panel performs an advisory role for the government giving recommendations on divestment of state enterprises, which are then processed by the divestment ministry for further action.

Asked about fresh cases the Commission was planning to take up, Bhattacharya remained non-committal.