Govt may mop up Rs8,247 crore from sale of stake in NTPC, NHPC

The government has approved proposals for divesting stakes in two state-run power companies, including an 11.36-per cent stake in National Thermal Power Corporation Ltd (NTPC) and a five-per cent equity in National Hydro Power Corporation Ltd (NHPC), in a move that could fetch Rs8,247 crore to the exchequer.

"The government has approved proposals for disinvestment in two power sector Central Power Sector Understandings (CPSUs)...NHPC (11.36 per cent)...NTPC  (5 per cent)," minister of state for coal and power Piyush Goyal informed the Lok Sabha in a written reply on Thursday.

The sale of a five per cent stake in NTPC will fetch Rs5,592 crore at current prices while sale of 11.36 per cent in NHPC will bring in Rs2,655 crore.

The minister further said that none of the CPSUs of the power ministry had made any loss during the last three financial years.

The government has so far raised Rs3,200 crore in the current financial year by parting with equity in Power Finance Corporation and Rural Electrification Corporation.

This is against the target of Rs69,500 crore divestment planned for the fiscal, which includes Rs41,000 crore via disinvestment of Central Public Sector Enterprises (CPSE) and Rs28,500 crore from strategic sale of PSUs.

While finance minister Arun Jaitley has set an ambitious target to raise Rs69,500 while presenting the Union Budget 2015-16, disinvestment ministry only expects to be able to raise Rs30,000 crore this fiscal.

Even if the government achieves Rs30,000 crore divestment this year, it would be the highest-ever mop-up through PSU stake sake in a year for the government.

The government has short-listed over a dozen public sector units, including Indian Oil Corporation, BPCL, Dredging Corporation of India, NBCC, Hindustan Aeronautics and Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd,  either for listing of shares or strategic stake sale.