Govt to divest stake in 10 more PSUs

The government is aiming to raise Rs 40,000 crore this fiscal through stake sale in 10 more public sector entities, including IndianOil and MMTC, and has set a roadmap for the same with the first issue SJVNL sailing off smoothly.


As per the Cabinet decision, all listed profitable PSUs should have a public holding of at least 10% and all profitable unlisted CPSUs should be listed.


As per criteria, 60 state-run companies are eligible for disinvestment. Last fiscal, the government had raised Rs 25,000 crore through stake sale in PSUs like Oil India, NMDC, REC and NTPC.



Here we take a look at 10 PSUs in which the government is going to sell its stake this fiscal:


1) Engineers India

Engineers India Ltd (EIL) was set up in 1965 to provide engineering and related technical services for petroleum refineries and other industrial projects.

It is working under the administrative control of the Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas (MoP&NG).

EIL today has emerged as Asia’s leading design, engineering and turnkey contracting company providing a complete range of project services needed to conceptualize, plan, design, engineer and construct projects to meet the specific requirements of its clients.



2) Coal India Ltd

Coal India Limited (CIL) is a Schedule 'A' 'Navratna' PSU under Ministry of Coal, with headquarters in Kolkata. It is the single largest coal producing company in the world and the largest corporate employer in the country with manpower of 409,332 (as on 1 July 2009).



With proven coal reserves of 105.82 billion tonnes out of total reserves of 267 billion tonnes (as on 1 April 2009), Coal India plays a pivotal role in Indian energy scenario. Coal India is a holding company with seven wholly owned coal producing subsidiary companies and one mine planning & consultancy company.



It operates through 79 areas and 473 mines of which 279 are underground, 163 opencast and 31 mixed mines. CIL further operates 18 coal washeries (12 coking coal and 6 non-coking coal) and also manages 200 other establishments like workshops, hospitals etc. CIL commands 75% of the Indian coal market.


3) Hindustan Copper

Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), a public sector undertaking under the administrative control of the Ministry of Mines, was incorporated in November 1967.

It has the distinction of being the nation’s only vertically integrated copper producing company as it manufactures copper right from the stage of mining to beneficiation, smelting, refining and casting of refined copper metal into downstream saleable products.

The company markets copper cathodes, copper wire bar, continuous cast copper rod and by-products, such as anode slime (containing gold, silver, etc), copper sulphate and sulphuric acid. More than 90% of the sales revenue is from cathode and continuous cast copper rods.

4) SAIL

SAIL is India's largest steel producing company. With a turnover of Rs 48,681 crore, the company is among the top five highest profit earning corporates of the country.

Ranked amongst the top ten public sector companies in India in terms of turnover, SAIL manufactures and sells a broad range of steel products, including hot and cold rolled sheets and coils, galvanised sheets, electrical sheets, structurals, railway products, plates, bars and rods, stainless steel and other alloy steels.

SAIL has five integrated steel plants, three special plants, and one subsidiary in different parts of the country.


5) Power Grid

Powergrid Corporation of India Ltd, a navratna public sector enterprise, is one of the largest transmission utilities in the world. It wheels about 45% of the total power generated in the country on its transmission network.

It has a pan India presence with around 71,500 circuit kms of transmission network and 120 EHVAC & HVDC sub-stations with a total transformation capacity of 79. 500 MVA.

Powergrid has also diversified into telecom business and established a telecom network of more than 20,000 kms across the country.It has consistently maintained the transmission system availability over 99% which is at par with the international utilities.


6) IndianOil

India’s flagship national oil company and downstream petroleum major Indian Oil Corporation Ltd (IndianOil) is the nation’s largest commercial enterprise, with a sales turnover of Rs 2,85,337 crore, the highest-ever for an Indian company, and a net profit of Rs 2, 950 crore for the year 2008-09.

IndianOil is also the highest ranked Indian company in the prestigious Fortune 'Global 500' listing, having moved up 11 places to the 105th position in 2009.

Incorporated as Indian Oil Company Ltd on June 30, 1959, it was renamed as Indian Oil Corporation Ltd on September 1, 1964 following the merger of Indian Refineries Ltd (established 1958) with it.



IndianOil and its subsidiaries account for approximately 48% petroleum products market share, 34% national refining capacity and 71% downstream sector pipelines capacity in India.


7) Manganese Ore India Ltd

Manganese Ore India Ltd (MOIL) currently operates 10 mines, six located in the Nagpur and Bhandara districts of Maharashtra and four in the Balaghat district of Madhya Pradesh.

All these mines are about a century old. MOIL fulfills about 70% of the total requirement of dioxide ore in India. The total production of manganese ore from all the mines constitutes about 65% of requirement of the country.

At present, the annual production is around 1.4 million tonnes which is expected to grow in the coming years. MOIL has set up Ferro Manganese Plant (10,000 TPY) and Electrolytic Manganese Dioxide (EMD) Plant (1000 TPY) as per its diversification plan for value addition to manganese ore.


MOIL is further considering setting up captive power plant, expanding the capacity of ferro manganese plant and setting up a new silico manganese plant.



8) RINL

Being the corporate body of Visakhapatnam Steel Plant, Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL), Visakhapatnam, is one of the most prominent steel producing units of India.

Located 26 kilometers south of Visakhapatnam, the foundation stone of RINL was laid down in 1971.

The plant is known to have three different mines under its control, namely a dolomite mine and manganese mine at Cheepurupalli and a blast furnace grade limestone mine at Jaggayapeta.


9) MMTC

Established in 1963, MMTC, one of the two highest foreign exchange earner for India, is a leading international trading company with a turnover of over $7 billion.



It is the largest international trading company of India and the first public sector enterprise to be accorded the status of ‘FIVE STAR EXPORT HOUSE’ by Govt Of India for long standing contribution to exports.


MMTC is the largest non-oil importer in India. Its vast international trade network, which includes a wholly owned international subsidiary in Singapore, spans almost in all countries in Asia, Europe, Africa, Oceania and Americas, giving MMTC a global market coverage.



10) Shipping Corporation

The Shipping Corporation of India was established in October 1961 by the amalgamation of Eastern Shipping Corporation and Western Shipping Corporation.

Starting out as a marginal Liner shipping company with just 19 vessels, the SCI today has metamorphosed into a giant conglomerate owning 76 ships of 5.1 million DWT with substantial interests in almost all segments of the shipping trade.

In addition, SCI mans/manages 60 vessels of 0.2 million tonnes DWT. It owns and operates about 33% of the Indian tonnage servicing both national and international trades.

Source: economictimes.