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Govt may dilute majority stake in BHEL, HMT, HEC: Joshi

The government said on Wednesday that it is open to divesting majority stake in five key heavy industry PSUs including BHEL, HMT and HEC, instead of diluting only minority stake in these companies as decided earlier.

"We would no longer insist on this (majority holdings in these five PSUs). Losses can be tolerated only for 4-5 years after that the units will have to be closed down," Heavy Industry Minister Manohar Joshi told reporters.

Joshi, however, revealed neither the timetable nor the percentage of government equity to be diluted in these units.

Bharat Heavy Electricals Ltd, Heavy Engineering Corporation, Bharat Ophthalmic Glass Ltd, Hindustan Machine Tools and Hindustan Photofilms Ltd had been identified as strategic units by the heavy industries department earlier.

Joshi had demanded a strategic industry status for these five PSUs, like the one enjoyed by Indian Oil Corporation, Oil and Natural Gas Corporation and Gas Authority of India Ltd in the petroleum sector, where the government has decided not to dilute its stake below 51 per cent at any time.

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