Government committed to public sector disinvestment: PM

September 1st, 2009 KOLKATA - All profitable public sector enterprises (PSEs) should be listed on the stock exchanges to realise their true worth and raise funds for the social sector and infrastructure projects, according to the chief of the Board for Reconstruction of Public Sector Enterprises (BRPSE). "All profitable PSEs should be listed on the stock exchange.

August 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Steel Ministry has identified two Public Sector Units (PSUs) for disinvestment, and is going to send its recommendations to the cabinet later this month, Union Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said on Friday. "We have identified two steel PSU's for disinvestment.

July 21st, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government Tuesday appointed West Bengal Power Secretary Sunil Mitra as the new disinvestment secretary. "The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) has approved the appointment of Sunil Mitra, as secretary in the department of disinvestment, ministry of finance," an official statement said Tuesday.

July 11th, 2009 KOLKATA - The Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) Saturday cautioned against raising funds through divestment of profitable state-run units to finance the fiscal deficit, terming this disastrous. "The corporate world is not entirely happy with the proposals in the union budget.

July 7th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee Tuesday said the national budget was not the document to spell out micro policy details and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government remained committed to divestment in state-run firms without diluting their public sector character. "I have made it very clear that we intend to include the public in disinvestment programmes," Mukherjee told an interactive meeting with India Inc, a day after presenting the national budget for the current fiscal.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government will raise Rs.1,120 crore (Rs.11.2 billion/$224 million) this fiscal from sale of government equity in state-owned units, according to the budget papers Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee presented in parliament Monday. In 2009-10, "disinvestment proceeds have been estimated at Rs.1,120 crore which includes disinvestment of a small portion of equity in Rail India Technical and Economic Services (RITES), Cochin Ship Yard Ltd, Telecommunications Consultants India Ltd, Manganese Ore India Ltd, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd, and Satluj Jal Vidyut Nigam Ltd," the Receipts Budget 2009-10 said.

July 6th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday emphasised that the overall strategy of the budget was to ensure that India recaptures the rhythm of accelerated growth despite the recessionary tendencies in the world economy. He (Mukherjee) has done a commendable job in reconciling the short term requirements of our economy, to provide a stimulus to the growth process and simultaneously to ensure that we recapture the rhythm of the growth process despite the recessionary tendencies in the world economy, the prime minister said commenting on finance minister Pranab Mukherjee's budget.

June 24th, 2009 KOLKATA - The government is not considering raising coal prices, coal minister Sriprakash Jaiswal said here Wednesday. "That is not our priority now," Jaiswal said when reporters bombarded him with queries on a possible increase rise in coal prices.

June 12th, 2009 SHIMLA - Expansion and modernisation of state-run steel plants to double their output are among the top priorities of the government, Steel Minister Virbhadra Singh said here Friday. "Our main priority is to expand and modernise the state-run steel plants so that their capacity would be doubled," he told reporters here.

June 11th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee Thursday said she had not taken a decision on disinvestment in railways. "No communication regarding disinvestment in railways has come to me.

June 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Disinvestment Secretary Rahul Khullar has been appointed the new commerce secretary, the government said Friday. Khullar, a 1975 batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) of the union territory cadre, will succeed G.K.

June 2nd, 2009 NEW DELHI - Oil exploration major Oil India Ltd (OIL) is likely to launch an initial public offering (IPO) in September, Petroleum Secretary R.S. Pandey said here Tuesday.

May 25th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress-led coalition government at the centre may not offer any further fiscal stimulus as the mounting fiscal deficit has left little room for more such measures, a senior cabinet minister said here Monday. I don't know whether the fiscal deficit we have has left any room for another stimulus...

May 16th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Enthused by the poll win, the Congress party Saturday said that the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) will continue with its economic policies, but not at the cost of the public sector. 'We will continue with the economic reforms, but not at the cost of the public sector,' Congress general secretary Janardan Dwivedi said, referring to the disinvestment carried out by the previous National Democratic Alliance government in state-owned profit making firms.

March 6th, 2009 KOLKATA - Public sector heavy engineering firm Andrew Yule and Co. Ltd will open financial bids for disinvestment of group company DPSC Ltd March 10, a top official said here Thursday.