The steel ministry has sent the proposal to sell 10 per cent of the government's holding in state-run Manganese Ore India Ltd to the Department of Disinvestment, Parliament was told on Friday.
The government on Tuesday said it has received Rs 4,353 crore as dividend tranches from seven public sector enterprises, including Coal India and PFC. Government has respectively received about Rs 575 crore and Rs 2038 crore from Nuclear Power Corporation of India Ltd and Coal India Ltd as dividend tranches," Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey tweeted. Besides, about Rs 887 crore and Rs 653 crore have been received from Power Finance Corporation (PFC) and Hindustan Aeronautics Ltd as dividend tranches.
Earlier this year, the government raised around Rs 1,000-crore by selling its stake in Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam.
There is no proposal to merge Nilachal Steel Corporation with SAIL but the process for the government's proposed merger of Nilachal Ispat Nigam Limited with Steel Authority of India Ltd is underway, the Lok Sabha was informed on Monday.
The government is likely to list four or five more of state-owned companies, which include Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd, Manganese Ore India Ltd and Cochin Shipyard, by March next year. A senior government official said the government plans to dilute up to 10 per cent in these companies.
The government's ambitious plan to make Steel Authority of India Limited a mega PSU may hit a roadblock with several smaller PSUs under the Steel Ministry expressing unwillingness to merge with the steel behemoth.
The interim free trade agreement between India and Australia will come into force on Thursday, providing duty-free access to thousands of domestic goods such as textiles, and leather in the Australian market. The agreement will help almost double the bilateral commerce to $45-50 billion in around five years, according to exporters and industry players. The Economic Cooperation and Trade Agreement (ECTA), which was signed on April 2, would provide duty-free access to Indian exporters of over 6,000 broad sectors, including textiles, leather, furniture, jewellery and machinery in the Australian market.
Ajit Mishra, vice president, Research, Religare Broking, answers your queries.