According to Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM) Secretary Tuhin Kanta Pandey, in December-January the government will summon for financial bids for privatisation of five to six public sector undertakings (PSUs) and close these transactions in the current financial year.
At an event, Pandey said that after 19 years, privatisation of five to six PSUs will take place this year itself.
BEML, Shipping Corporation of India (SCI), Pawan Hans, Central Electronics, Nilachal Ispat Nigam are the PSUs the government is looking to privatise this year, he said.
He also said that privatisation of Bharat Petroleum Corporation (BPCL) is in the due diligence stage. There are three bidders who have reportedly shown interest in the acquisition of the oil marketing company.
“These are the transactions which we think that financial bidding can take place in December-January, and we can actually privatise them during this year itself,” Pandey said.
While there is a consultative process at the official and ministerial level to accomplish things faster, the Cabinet Secretary also held a meeting to further simplify the process, he said.
The government is also working to launch the initial public offering of Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in January-March, Pandey said. This IPO will be a big event for markets, he added.
