In a major push to privatisation drive, Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in her budget speech that the central government will hold a bare minimum presence in only four strategic sectors and all other Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSEs) will be privatised.
The four sectors in which the government will continue to have presence are - atomic energy, space and defence; transport and telecommunications; power, petroleum, coal and other minerals; and banking, insurance and financial services.
The finance minister further said that the government has approved the policy to privatise all CPSEs which was announced as part of the Atmanirbhar package.
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Niti Aayog will work on the next set of public sector enterprises that will be taken up for strategic disinvestment, the FM added.
“In four areas, a bare minimum number of firms will be retained and the rest will be privatised. In other sectors, all firms will be privatised,” she said, adding that the policy approved by the government provides a clear roadmap for disinvestment in strategic and non-strategic sectors.
She said that the firms that will be privatised in 2021-22 include Bharat Petroleum Corp Ltd, Air India, Shipping Corporation of India, Container Corporation of India, IDBI Bank, Bharat Earth Movers Ltd, and Pawan Hans.
Most of these firms are already in various stages of the stake sale.
The finance minister added that the amendments to relevant laws for the sale of two public sectors and one general insurance company will be tabled in the current parliament session for the purpose of further privatisation.
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The initial public offer of Life Insurance Corporation of India will also be completed in 2021-22.
The government has budgeted Rs 1.75 lakh crore as receipts from disinvestment for 2021-22, Sitharaman said.
