NEW DELHI: The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) on Wednesday decided to speed up the disinvestment process by giving its nod to the appointment of merchant bankers and market intermediaries simultaneously with the clearance for disinvestment in a public sector undertaking (PSU).
“The appointment of merchant bankers and other intermediaries will now be taken up simultaneously with the process of seeking CCEA approval as soon as the minister in charge has approved the case,” a statement said after a CCEA meeting.
The concerned ministries will be required to simultaneously seek the approval of CCEA for both disinvestment, as well as empanelment of merchant bankers.
With the new procedure, it is expected that the time saved will be optimally utilised in preparing for the process and facilitating disinvestment, it said.
“The process will help planning and timing of public offerings in a manner that they are spread out evenly and avoid bunching as far as possible to ensure better response from investors, including retail,” the statement said.
Currently the ministries first seek approval for disinvestment of a particular public sector unit and later obtain permission for appointment of merchant bankers, resulting in delays.
The UPA Government proposes to raise Rs 40,000 crore during the current fiscal from the sale of equity in PSUs, up from about Rs 25,000 crore a year ago.
On the pipeline
Among the major PSUs that are likely to come out with public issues are Coal India, Indian Oil, MMTC, RINL and Shipping Corporation, Hindustan Copper, Power Grid and Manganese Ore India.