Cabinet may consider Coal India stake sale proposal tomorrow

New Delhi: The Cabinet may consider tomorrow 5-10 per cent stake sale in Coal India that could fetch up to Rs 24,800 crore to the exchequer.

The government currently holds 79.65 per cent stake in Coal India (CIL).

Sources said the CIL stake sale proposal may be placed before the Cabinet, headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

At the current prices, a 10 per cent stake sale could fetch about Rs 24,800 crore.

Shares of CIL were trading at Rs 393.20, down 3.85 per cent on the BSE.

The government had last sold 10 per cent stake in the bluechip coal major on January 31, 2015. It had then garnered Rs 22,557 crore to the exchequer.

The disinvestment department is readying PSUs for disinvestment and is seeking Cabinet approval for the same. It has Cabinet nod for about two dozen PSUs and is waiting for right market conditions to go ahead with the stake sale.

So far this fiscal, due to volatile markets the government has sold stake in two PSUs — REC and PFC — and garnered over Rs 3,000 crore.

The government has set a target of Rs 69,500 crore to be garnered through PSU stake sale.