New Delhi, July 15: Government on Tuesday said talks have started for identifying PSUs for equity sale as part of the disinvestment programme, while assuring the industry that it would not be crowded out beacuse of Centre’s borrowings of about Rs four lakh crore this year.
“My ministry has initiated discussions with other ministries and departments for identifying the PSUs, where a portion of government shareholding can be sold and for issue of fresh equity by the PSUs to meet their fund requirements.
“The details are being worked out and would be announced in due course,” Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee said replying to the debate on the Union Budget.
On serious concerns voiced over the fallout of the government’s borrowing, which was widely feared to undermine the cost and availability of funds for recovery in growth of private sector, he said: “I assure that the government and the RBI would work in tandem to ensure that… private sector’s requirements are met from market without crowding out others.”
The government plans to borrow Rs 2.41 lakh crore from the market in the first half of this fiscal, but he said the debt would not be monetised – meaning that the funds would not be raised from RBI.
“This point is to be understood very clearly and I take this opportunity to assure this House and through this House to the market and to the larger community,” Mukherjee said.
–PTI