Sunil Mitra is new disinvestment secretary

August 21st, 2009 KOLKATA - The expert committee, set up by Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee to explore ways to promote partnership between the railways and industries, will submit its initial report next week, committee chairman Amit Mitra said here Friday. "The opportunities that are there in the form of low hanging fruits have been identified (in the report)," Mitra, also the secretary-general of the Federation of Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), said during an interactive session between Banerjee and industrialists.

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 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 said the government would go in for disinvestment of public sector undertakings, pointing out that Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee had expressed this commitment in his budget. In an interview to the CNN-IBN news channel after Mukherjee presented his budget in parliament, Manmohan Singh said: "The finance minister has committed our government to increase disinvestment while maintaining the public sector character of public enterprises." Without dwelling upon the details and the time frame, the prime minister said: "I haven't done any detailed calculations.

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 -; Pranab Mukherjee on Monday assumed his charge as the new Finance Minister. Mukherjee was welcomed by the Finance Secretary, Revenue Secretary, Expenditure Secretary, Disinvestment Secretary, CEA, Chairman, CBDT and Chairman, CBEC.

May 20th, 2009 KOLKATA - West Bengal is keen to take up a hydel power project in Bhutan and wants the central government's help in this regard, a senior government official said here Wednesday. 'We want to set up a project, with our own investment, in Bhutan and we have asked the government of India to help us,' power secretary Sunil Mitra told reporters here.

May 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The government is considering imposing safeguards duty and anti-dumping measures on cheap imports of auto components, a senior official said here Tuesday. 'The industry has approached the government as it is worried about cheap auto component imports that can harm the sector,' Surajit Mitra, additional secretary at the Department of Heavy Industries, said.

March 15th, 2009 NEW DELHI - The Congress could well be the beneficiary of the break-up of the decade-long Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-Biju Janata Dal (BJD) alliance in Orissa, according to BJP MP Chandan Mitra. 'The immediate gainer after the split will be the moribund Congress party, which has been sidelined by the BJP-BJD alliance all these years,' Mitra told IANS.

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.

February 5th, 2009 NEW DELHI - India and Germany have set up a joint working group (JWG) for the automotive sector for increased cooperation in the field of technology, skill development and framework development. The joint declaration for the JWG was signed between Surajit Mitra, additional secretary, ministry of heavy industries and public enterprises and Wolfgang Hahn, director general, strategic planning and international affairs, German ministry of transport, building and urban affairs.

January 18th, 2009 NEW DELHI - Rahul Khullar, a 1975-batch officer of the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) with the union territory cadre, has been named the next secretary in the Department of Disinvestment. He takes charge from Vivek Mehrotra, a 1974-batch IAS officer with Haryana cadre, who has been moved as secretary in the ministry of minority affairs, an official statement said Monday.