New Delhi : The government deferred a decision on its stake sale in three PSUs — ONGC, Coal India and NHPC as Finance Minister Arun Jaitley was not in town.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs did not take up the disinvestment proposals as the minister concerned was not present, Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad told reporters here after the CCEA meeting.
As per estimates, disinvestment in the three PSUs could yield the exchequer over Rs 40,000 crore, enough to meet the target for the current fiscal.
The proposals before the CCEA, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was to sell 5 per cent stake in ONGC, which could fetch about Rs 18,000 crore at current market price.
Besides another 10 per cent stake sale of Coal India which could fetch about Rs 22,000 crore to the exchequer. Also the 11.36 per cent stake sale in NHPC could fetch over Rs 2,600 crore.
In the current fiscal the government plans to mop up Rs 43,425 crore from selling stake in PSUs.
LPG consumers can avail 12 cylinder quota anytime
In a relief to consumers, the Cabinet lifted the restriction of supply of only one subsidised cooking gas LPG cylinder to a household in a month, saying consumers can avail their quota of 12 bottles at anytime of the year. While raising quota of subsidised 14.2-kg LPG cylinders that a household can avail in a year to 12 from previous nine, the government had in February put a restriction of one cylinder per month. “Sometimes people do not need one, sometimes during festive season demand is more. So there was a feeling that if someone has not taken one cylinder on a given month, then in remaining months he wont get it,” Telecom and Law Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said here.
