The next round of talks on how to implement Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa’s proposal to allow state Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) to buy the Union government’s 5 per cent stake in Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC) is likely to take place in the capital on Monday.
Senior officials representing the Tamil Nadu government, coal ministry, NLC and Department of Disinvestment (DoD) met on Thursday to work out the modalities.
In Monday’s meeting, the finance ministry is likely to seek a waiver from market regulator, Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) for giving preference to Tamil Nadu state PSUs during the issue of shares.
Jayalalithaa’s proposal was approved by Securities and Exchange Board of India on Sunday after which the finance ministry requested the Tamil Nadu government to nominate a senior official to hold further discussions.
“SEBI is of the view that the proposal could get covered within the guidelines on IPP (Institutional Placement Programme). However, the exact details needs to be worked-out that require discussions with the officials of the Government of Tamil Nadu, Ministry of Coal and Department of Disinvestment,” the finance ministry had said in the statement.
After the DoD approached SEBI to give its consent to the Tamil Nadu government’s proposal, SEBI had said that state PSUs could pick up stake through the Institutional Placement Programme (IPP) route provided that they are registered as a Qualified Institutional Buyer (QIB).
Flouting a Madras High Court order, almost 30,000 NLC workers have been on an indefinite strike which entered its ninth day on Wednesday.