Up for grabs: stakes in India Oil
India plans sales for cash boost
India plans to raise 18.54 billion rupees ($386 million) via sale of shares in two state-owned companies in the current fiscal year, the government said today.
Namo Narayan Meena, a junior finance minister, told parliament the government would sell a portion of its stake in power producer NHPC and explorer Oil India
"The public offering of NHPC and Oil India are likely to be completed in the current financial year," he said.
Yesterday, the finance ministry said in a review of the economy India needed to raise 250 billion rupees every year from divestments and called for selling a minimum of 10% equity to the public in all unlisted state companies.
An updated budget for the fiscal year 2009/2010 ending March scheduled on Monday is expected to announce detailed divestment plans.
Meena said a public offering of Rail India Technical and Economic Services, an engineering, consultancy and project management company, has been deferred due to change in its capital requirement.
Divestments have slowed to a trickle since 2004 after aggressive asset sales by the then Bharatiya Janata Party-led government.
The Congress party-led coalition is expected to push divestments after winning a stronger mandate in May.
Its earlier five-year term was handicapped by opposition from its then left allies to economic reforms.