|
|
S. Jaipal Reddy in Gurgaon on Tuesday. (PTI)
|
New Delhi, Feb. 14: A ministerial panel, headed by finance minister Pranab Mukherjee, is likely to decide on the divestment of ONGC and Bhel tomorrow. Stake sales in the PSU duo are expected to fetch the government Rs 14,500 crore this fiscal.
“The GoM (group of ministers) is to meet tomorrow to consider proposals relating to divestments in ONGC,” oil minister S. Jaipal Reddy said.
The government plans to sell 5 per cent in ONGC to raise about Rs 12,000 crore. A decision on the stake sale in Bhel is also likely, divestment secretary Mohammad Haleem Khan said, adding, “We will consider all routes allowed under Sebi guidelines.”
Sebi allows promoters to sell stake to institutional investors through auction. Sources said the Centre was likely to offload 10 per cent in Bhel.
Khan said, “National Buildings Construction Corporation Ltd has filed for IPO with Sebi. It may happen this fiscal if Sebi approves.” The government is looking to raise Rs 250 crore through a stake sale in NBCC.
Gas allocation
Reddy said the empowered group of ministers (eGoM) would take up the issue of gas allocation from Reliance Industries’ KG-D6 field, following a considerable drop in output. “Its meeting may happen on February 24,” he said.
The meeting is the first in more than 18 months. The output from KG-D6 is likely to drop to 27 million standard cubic metres per day next fiscal from about 35.4mmscmd, an oil ministry official said.
Officials said the oil ministry had made a proposal to the eGoM to stop gas supplies to power producers that do not sell electricity at regulated tariffs and cancel allocation to a few merchant power plants in Andhra Pradesh that sell at a price way above the rate determined by the regulator.
Diesel decontrol
Reddy said he had asked the finance ministry to compensate state-owned oil refiners for the losses they suffered by selling petrol, and ruled out diesel deregulation. “Deregulation of diesel in entirety is a very difficult proposition but at an appropriate time, we may look at reducing subsidy on diesel. But that time hasn’t come,” he said.
|
