New Delhi: In order to give a boost to the country’s economy, the newly formed Narendra Modi-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government is likely to initiate disinvestment of Public Sector Units (PSUs). As part of this agenda, the sale of Air India is going to be on the 100-day priority list of the government, said sources close to the Department of Investment and Public Asset Management (DIPAM).
Soon after the victory of the NDA in the Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Panagariya, an Indian-American economist, called for privatising one public sector company every week for the rapid economic growth of the country.
Besides being an economist, Arvind Panagariya is also a professor of economics at the Columbia University. He also served as the first vice-chairman of NITI Aayog between January 2015 and August 2017.
Taking to Twitter, Panagariya said, “The Modi government should privatise at least one PSU per week so that the economy can witness the expected growth.”
However, during its previous stint, the Central government shied away from the sale of the national carrier, Air India, and many other PSUs as they focused more on the merger of public sector entities. But 2019 is likely to witness a change in that policy.
“The disinvestment programme is going to be an agenda for the newly elected government. The Central government is likely to put up Air India for sale soon and that plan may be the first to be placed on the table. The sale of other PSUs is going to follow suit,” a source close to DIPAM told The Sunday Guardian.
While big-ticket disinvestments, including of Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) acquisition of Hindustan Petrochemicals Limited (HPCL), Central Public Sector Enterprises Exchange Traded Fund CPSE ETF, Bharat-22 ETF, and Coal India stake sale, along with six initial public offerings (IPO) brought a record Rs 77,417 crore to the government in 2018, but the government’s cosmetic effort failed to sell 74% stakes in Air India in 2018.
“Unlike the last attempt, which failed in garnering any results, the newly formed Central government is set to chart out a fresh plan for the airline’s sale. As part of the plan, it will sell subsidiaries like Air India Air Transport Service Ltd (AIATSL), Air India Engineering Services Ltd (AIESL), and land and building assets of the national carrier separately,” the source said.
“Apart from the national carrier, the second strategic plan of the Central government is going to be the sale of Pawan Hans, where the government holds 51% stakes, while oil major ONGC holds the remaining. The sale of Pawan Hans is likely to be completed by the end of this year,” the source added.