The new government that presents the full Budget for 2024-2025 in July should be ready to restructure the way divestment is managed and implemented, proposes A K Bhattacharya.
The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Finance has asked the finance ministry to spell out a clear legal strategy, including options such as a "golden share" or indirect control structures, to maintain strategic oversight in public sector entities if state ownership falls below 51 per cent.
The power ministry had approached the department of disinvestment in August 2007 for approval for NTPC's FPO, which could fetch the company nearly Rs 6,000 crore to part-finance its expansion programme.
India's privatisation push, once projected as a cornerstone of economic reform, has suffered another setback, with the Centre set to call off the IDBI Bank stake sale, highlighting the political and structural constraints shaping the country's disinvestment policy, experts say.
The ban has been in force since last Friday.
The Indian government has appointed Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey as the new chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI). Pandey, a 1987-batch IAS officer, will replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year tenure ends on February 28. Pandey's appointment comes at a time when the markets are experiencing bear pressure due to withdrawals by foreign institutional investors (FIIs). Pandey has extensive experience in the finance ministry, having served as the longest-serving secretary in the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) and the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE). He also played a key role in the framing of the 2025-26 Budget and the drafting of the new Income Tax Bill. Pandey's appointment is for an initial period of three years.
New Delhi will substantially reduce tariffs on industrial and agricultural goods while continuing to protect sensitive sectors. Tariffs on some agricultural products that are not traditionally considered sensitive will be brought down to zero, while in the case of relatively sensitive items, duties will be reduced in a graded manner and quotas will be imposed.
The government plans to resurrect the ministry of disinvestment in a bid to raise resources by selling its shareholding in public sector companies.
'Inter-ministerial coordination, information on the proposed PSUs, and due diligence are taking longer than expected to conclude the process.'
The government on Wednesday asked ministries and departments to clear dues of debt-laden Air India immediately and henceforth purchase tickets only in cash. The government earlier this month decided to sell Air India to Talace Pvt Ltd, a unit of the holding company of salt-to-software conglomerate Tata group, for Rs 18,000 crore. The Department of Expenditure, under the Finance Ministry, in a 2009 order, had said that in cases of air travel (both domestic and international), including LTC where the Government of India bears the cost of air passage, the officials may travel only by Air India.
Seasoned bureaucrat and a stickler for rules Finance Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey will be at the helm of capital market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), for three years. The 1987-batch Odisha-cadre Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer, Pandey, would replace Madhabi Puri Buch, whose three-year term ends on Friday.
He was last month appointed as Secretary in Department of Economic Affairs in place of his batchmate Arvind Mayaram, who was first shifted to Tourism and then to Minority Affairs Ministry.
The IEMs could be those former officers of government and PSUs who have retired from top management positions and also eminent persons and executives from the private sector.
The finance minister continues to be backed by the same policy team in charting out the broad strategy as in the few earlier Budgets.
The way the present government has dealt with appointments of civil servants remains to be a cause for concern.
The Department of Disinvestment, which is looking at mopping up Rs 40,000 crore (Rs 400 billion) from the sale of shares in public sector units this fiscal, has raised about Rs 1,325 crore (Rs 13.25 billion) so far.
An Inter-ministerial panel had last month approved 10 per cent equity sale in Coal India. At present, the government holds 90 per cent stake in the firm.
The government has merged the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE) with the finance ministry to give it a better control over state-owned firms and facilitate its ambitious privatisation programme. Finance ministry will now have six departments while DPE's hereto parent ministry, the ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises will now be called the ministry of heavy industries. Previously, the disinvestment ministry - created under the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government - was merged with the finance ministry and is now a department under it. Also, Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) was abolished and administration of foreign investments was given to the finance ministry (FinMin).
An announcement has barred the entry of journalists in the finance ministry.
The guidelines for strategic disinvestment were issued on Monday itself when Finance Minister Arun Jaitley presented the Union Budget for 2016-17.
6 locations in New Delhi and 2 in Mumbai were raided.
Doubts over implementation of a Cabinet-approved strategic sale policy are puzzling.
The Department of Disinvestment, which is the nodal department for carrying out PSU stake sale, will finalise the cabinet note after appointment of asset management companies to handle PSU ETF.
As on December 31, government stake in IndianOil stood at 78.92 per cent.
The company has already received the coal ministry's nod to reduce the face value of its shares to Rs 10 from Rs 1,000 at present.
The government has managed Rs 21,000 crore through stake sales and buybacks in the first six months, the highest-ever first half divestment revenue for any year by a good margin, raising expectations for the rest of FY17.
SAIL on Friday said the finance ministry has given its in-principle approval for 20 per cent disinvestment of the steel giant.
The Dipam will work under Finance Ministry.
Finance ministry's drive is meant to meet fiscal deficit target and improve overall efficiency in government spending.
The Department of Disinvestment has sought comments on a draft note proposing share sales to public.
In a first, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Wednesday met the secretaries of all the government departments collectively and asked them to directly get in touch with him to resolve issues and expedite decision-making.
The government is hopeful that 5 per cent disinvestment in blue-chip oil company ONGC will be completed by December, although it has advised SAIL to put on hold its share sale for the time being.
The Department of Disinvestment in the Finance Ministry will hire an advertising or public relation agency for the purpose.
The Ministry of Finance may seek the Union Cabinet's approval for the proposed 10 per cent stake sale in state-owned Coal India Ltd by the end of this month, a senior Coal Ministry official said
Govt looks at more taxes, dividends to meet deficit target.
Bureaucrats heading disinvestment and financial services usually don't get appointed as finance secretary.
Divestment in PFC, REC, NHPC, Nalco, Hindustan Copper and NMDC could be considered
Jet-Etihad deal documents among those leaked: CBI
The government had proposed to raise Rs 30,000 crore from divestment in the current fiscal.
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