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Maruti, 4 PSUs to be privatised this fiscal

The government on Wednesday said it would complete privatisation of at least five more PSUs, including Indian Petrochemicals, National Fertilisers and divest in joint venture Maruti Udyog in the remaining part of the current fiscal.

"In the next few weeks we will complete the process of divestment in IPCL, NFL, Maruti, Jessop and Paradeep Phosphate Ltd," divestment secretary Pradeep Baijal, who is in Mumbai for the signing of agreement for sale of government equity in VSNL to Tatas, told reporters.

"Cabinet Committee on Divestment will meet in Delhi on Thursday to consider PPL," he said adding that Jessop would be taken up next week.

While Zuari-OCP combine alone filed the price bid for PPL last week, government would close the financial bids for Jessop India on February 15.

The government is expected to invite price bids for IPCL by early March to close the deal by end of the fiscal.

Asked about the exclusion of Indian Oil from bidding for Bharat Petroelum and Hindustan Petroleum, Baijal said that the government would not like the same owner for IBP and the other two oil PSUs to ensure healthy competition.

But the same yardstick could not be applied in case of IPCL, where the issue of monopoly could be tackled by the government by tariff mechanism, he said when asked if Reliance could be kept out of IPCL privatisation.

IOC and Reliance are the frontrunners for IPCL and the oil PSU has asked the government for level playing field on the issue of monopoly.

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